Love with class
by SE-TVD
Summary: Elena is an 18 year old in her final year looking for something that will make her last year in high school worth while. Stefan is a student teacher in her history class. Will she find that something? AU/AH - Human.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! This was something that was floating around in my head as an idea and I decided to make a story out of it! This is all AU/AH! Enjoy!

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Elena rolled around in bed dreading the first say of her senior year. It was now 7am and she had already gotten 3 calls from Caroline who had been freaking out over her outfit. Elena never really understood what the deal was with Caroline, she already had the football captain as her boyfriend, she already had her place as head cheerleader and she was also the president of Mystic High. Elena would not understand why Caroline tried so hard, she was already in the spotlight!

Elena got up and pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail so she could begin her day. She walked to the joint bathroom she shared with her brother and said a silent prayer that he wasn't locked up in it yet. Wait, who was she kidding? Jeremy would get up at 8:30 seeing as that's when school started. She shook her head and smiled at her little brother. She loved him dearly, but he had no sense of priorities.

After she was showered and ready to go, she bounced down the stairs wearing her jean shorts with a bright pink top that complimented her olive skin tone. As she was coming down the stairs she ran straight into her father.

"Dad! You can't just run into people like that, I'm not even awake yet, god." Complained Elena like a 12 year old. Grayson chuckled before he responded "Good morning to you too sweet heart."

Elena got her coffee and checked her phone; 1 missed call from Bonnie and 4 from Caroline. Great. Well she knew what Caroline probably needed so she went ahead and called Bonnie.

"Hello?" spoke a soft voice from the other end, "Hey, whats up? You called but I was in the middle of my shower." Elena said as she went to put her shoes on. "Yeah I am pulling up in your driveway right about now, come on out!" "Alright bye!"

"Bye mom! Bye dad! Send Jeremy to school before 8:30!" Elena yelled out before she got out the door.

Elena got into Bonnie's car and off they went for their first day of their senior year.

Bonnie was Elena's best friend, besides Caroline of course. They've known each other for their whole lives and there was nothing that they would not do for each other. They were there for each other after their first tooth loss, first time swimming, first time in middle school, first kiss, first boyfriend, and first heartbreak.

They arrive at school and the very first thing they see is Caroline running towards them with a wide smile on her face.

"OMG, I have the best news ever. There is a new student teacher here who is going to be in our history class with Saltzman." All this was said in one breath.

"Ou is this student teacher hot?" Elena asked curiously. "I have no clue. He's only 2 years older than us. That's not that bad is it?" Caroline said while looking at Elena.

"Care, you have a man might I remind you?" added Bonnie with a chuckle "Yeah, so? Where does it say that I cannot admire men?" Elena laughed before she made her way to her locker. She grabbed her history textbook and made her way to class with Caroline and Bonnie behind her talking about random things. Elena fumbled with her textbook and it hit the ground with a thud. She stood there letting out a big breath with a roll of her eyes already annoyed with her day.

Before she bent down to pick it up a hand beat her to it. She stood up straight and her big brown doe eyes made contact with a pair of striking green ones. She held his gaze for about 5 seconds before the bell rang and she thanked him and off she went to history.

She walked in and sat down still recollecting how those eyes bore into hers. She had never seen such green eyes. She then realized she didn't even see his face, she was so captivated by his eyes that it held all her attention.

Caroline and Bonnie came in and sat on either side of her still immersed in conversation. Elena was about to open her mouth to tell them about her encounter with the green eyes when Ric came in and began class. She knew Ric on a personal level outside of the history class so she was a bit more relaxed in his class. Ric was engaged to her Aunt Jenna and they were beyond happy.

Elena shut her mouth and paid attention to Ric while he was taking the attendance. As he was taking the attendance someone walked into the class with a side sling bag and a coffee mug. He was wearing a simple white button up shirt with a skinny black tie and black pants. He set his things aside and looked up at the class where his eyes met with Elena.

Elena gasped and dropped her pencil she was playing with in her hand. She was staring into those very same green eyes. He gave Elena a timid smile and head nod, to which Elena raised an eyebrow but smiled back.

"Everyone, this is our new student teacher and I'm gonna let him introduce himself." Ric said before he motioned this young man to begin.

"Hi everyone, My name is Stefan Salvatore and I am an English/History major, and I'm glad to be here. I hope we have a good year." He said with a hint of shyness.

Elena took this time to study his face. He was very attractive, no doubt about it. The way he spoke, and carried himself with class was something she did not see very often from guys at Mystic High. His defined jaw structure framed his face perfectly, his light brown hair tousled on the top on his head very carefully styled with ease from the looks of it, and then his lips. His lips were very pink and almost immediately Elena wondered what it would feel like to have them against her own. She looked down and blushed before she could let her thoughts go any further.

Elena felt a nudge on both sides of her from Caroline and Bonnie, while she heard a low whistle from Caroline.

"This is going to be my favorite class. Hello ." Caroline sang out low so no one else could hear.

Elena laughed quietly and the sound of her laugh caught Stefan's attention. He looked up to see her laughing and smiling and he could have sworn he had never heard something sweeter. Her big brown eyes were framed by her eyelashes, and her long brown hair was tucked behind one ear and flowed freely over her one shoulder. Her olive skin looked smooth and silky and he could have sworn he could have felt a tug at his heart. His look traveled down to her bag by her feet where he saw her white converse, and her long tan legs. He licked his lips ever so slightly before looking back at her face where she caught him looking at her.

She smiled and held his gaze before it was broken by Ric coughing and repeating her name. "Elena?"

"Yes, , I'm here…" Elena got out before she blushed and looked down at her desk. This was going to be a fun year she thought to herself.

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There you have it! Chapter 1! Let me know I you guys like it and whether or not I should continue!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! I got some reviews for chapter one and from the looks of it you are interested in this story! I am also more than open to suggestions/ideas of what you guys would like to see happen so keep those reviews coming! Thank you guys so much for reading! J

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"Oh my GOD, how are his eyes so green!?" Caroline nearly shouted when the three of them made their way to their 2nd period class.

First period mostly consisted of the typical name games, getting to know each other and what not. They went around the class and everyone had to state five facts about themselves. Caroline's facts consisted mostly of her talking about her wardrobe or her part in the school as a whole to which everyone hummed when needed and clapped politely when she sat back down. It then came to Elena where she stood up reluctantly, stated her name, her hobbies, and her favorite colour because in that moment it felt like she knew nothing about herself.

Elena sighed and started talking "I saw him before we got to class you know. I fumbled like an idiot with my textbook and it fell on the floor. I went to go pick it up but he beat me to it, I was going to say something but the bell rang so I just thanked him and left."

At this point Caroline was beyond amused and had a wicked smile on her face and Bonnie was just smiling.

"So you have the hots for him… right?" Bonnie asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

"He is attractive, and his eyes are so green. When I saw him this morning I didn't even notice his face, I just stared at his eyes like a creep." Elena got put before she dramatically frowned.

"Oh come on, I saw him looking at you and licking his lips. Salvatore wants you, Elena! This is exciting! Make sure you dress extra nice and wear your hair up, it shows off your neck a lot more which is extra hot for guys, oh and wear short shorts! You better work those legs off for him, and not to mention you must bathe in your perfect perfume. And trust me, before the semester is over you will have him in the palm of your hand." Caroline said before grinning like an idiot at Elena.

Elena raised both her eyebrows and scoffed at her best friend and opened her mouth, but Bonnie began before she had to chance to.

"Caroline, take a breather, you are going to overwhelm the girl! Oh and Elena, yeah I agree, work those legs." Bonnie laughed.

"You guys come on; he's a student teacher for crying out loud. And plus, I don't even know him, he could be the biggest pretentious douche there is and I wouldn't even know it yet." Elena reasoned.

"Or he could be a sweet heart!" countered Caroline.

"Okay, anyways, can we forget about Salvatore for about 5 minutes? My dad invited some best friend of his for dinner tonight and he expects me to be picture perfect daughter for the night… I mean, he gave Jeremy the free card and told him to go out for the night." Elena complained.

"Yeah I would get Jeremy out of the house too; he isn't exactly picture perfect son." Caroline said.

Bonnie let out a sigh, she didn't like all this talk of Jeremy. It was making her feel nervous because she has secretly been seeing him behind Elena's back. It started in August about a month ago. Yeah she felt bad about it but she had to say something soon to Elena.

"You guys, he isn't that bad. At least he is out of his druggie phase. I mean, he is actually really sweet…" Bonnie trailed off when she was being watched by two curious eyes.

"Okay you know what, I am going to class and I shall see you guys third period at lunch!" Elena said before walking off to her next class.

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Stefan was walking to the office to drop the attendance off when his phone went off. He dug in his pocket, took out his phone and almost rolled his eyes when he saw the name.

"What do you want Nik?" He asked almost annoyingly.

"Nothing. Just checking up on my lad on his first day of school. By the way, Katherine is on the line with us."

Stefan laughed and stopped walking and he exited the building and went to sit on the bleachers just outside the school by the field.

Nik was Stefan's best friend. They knew each other since middle school when he moved here from Britain with his entire family. Despite his more annoying traits, Nik was more than trustworthy. Stefan could trust him with anything and same with Nik.

Katherine however, was a bit more complicated. She was once Stefan's ex, they dated for about a week before they kissed and realized that it was about equivalent to kissing a sibling. They just didn't work, and they mistook the love for real love. But ever since then they were inseparable. They hung out almost every day and went on wild adventures day after day.

"It's good, I like it. What are you guys up to?" Stefan asked.

"Nothing, I'm sitting here getting my nails done, waiting for you to finish with your school day darling." Katherine said mockingly. To that, Nik just laughed.

"Thanks for the note in the lunch mom!" Stefan taunted back with a hearty laugh.

"Make sure you eat your entire lunch sweetie! Including the crust." Katherine bit back and then hung up.

"Stef, buddy, let me know when you're done. I'll come pick you up and we can go out for a drink."

"Not tonight Nik, I'll call you later, bye..." With that Stefan hung up and made his way back into the school for the rest of the day.

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It was around 6o'clock when Elena got home after school. She went to the mall with Caroline and Bonnie because Caroline needed something nice to wear for Tyler's birthday party on the weekend.

So now she was exhausted, but when she got home she saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway before it all registered.

"Shit…" she said under her breath. She almost forgot about dinner tonight. Luckily it was not that late.

She got in and quickly rushed upstairs and dropped her things off so she could freshen up before dinner.

She peered into Jeremy's room and saw it was empty. She started humming to herself before she made her way to the bathroom. She pulled her hair up into a pony and looked down while tying her hair before she turned the corner to enter the bathroom but collided with a strong chest.

She fell over and was on top of this muscular chest when she looked up and saw the very same green eyes she had been thinking about all day.

She couldn't help but notice how strong his arms felt as they were locked behind her back. She felt every line of his body against hers, and the scent of his body wash, mint gum, and cologne swirled in her head making it impossible to form coherent thoughts.

For Stefan, he could smell the passion fruit lotion on her olive skin, and he could smell her shampoo. She smelled amazing, and Stefan was sure he would never get that smell out of his brain now. He was broken out of his trance when Elena opened her mouth to speak.

"Wait, Salvatore?!" she half whispered half screamed while still lying on his chest.

"E-Elena?!" he countered back with equal fervor.

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Well there is chapter two! Dinner will be the next chapter! I hope you guys liked it and are still very much interested. This was a bit of a filler so I could get some relations and background info established. Let me know what you guys think with a review! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three is up! I hope you guys like it!

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They were all sitting at the dinner table just talking after they finished dinner up. It was Miranda and Grayson across from each other, Giuseppe and Sofia beside each other, and Stefan and Elena across from each other.

Dinner had flown well, they were all immersed into conversation and it was just nearing 7pm, so the night was still young.

Elena had been nodding and smiling when the time was right, and added her input when necessary, nothing too extreme. Giuseppe talked about his time spent in New York for the last 10 years and why they decided to move back. They were interested in settling down in a small place again after 10 years in the big city. Both their sons Damon, and Stefan were grown up and they were finding their own paths and they were establishing themselves and Sofia and Giuseppe wanted to support them. So when Stefan announced that he wanted to move back to Mystic Falls to go through with his in school placement, his parents were more than happy to oblige and move back.

"Elena honey why don't you show Stefan around the house and then you guys can take it out back while we take our drinks to the living room?" Miranda suggested with ease.

Elena smiled and happily obliged, but not before she stomped on her mom's foot under the table and shot her a glare nobody noticed.

All night they had been sneaking glances while the other was not looking. And if Elena was being honest, the way he bit his lip every now and again was driving her insane.

Stefan on the other hand could not get her damn laugh out of his head. It was permanently ingrained into his memory and it was the sweetest thing he had ever heard. The way she giggled every now and again, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear that showed off her long neck. He could imagine what it would feel like to have his lips against her neck, against her lips, against her skin.

Everyone left the dining room leaving Stefan and Elena alone in the kitchen. Elena began to clean up when she heard Stefan speak.

"So, I didn't know you were a gilbert…"

"So… how long have you known my dad?" Elena asked barely able to formulate coherent thoughts at this point due to the interaction between the two.

"Pretty long time, since I was a kid… I mean we all lived in Mystic Falls before we moved to New York when I was 7. You know, I remember you as a kid…" Stefan trailed off…

Elena froze momentarily. She knew it could be a possibility of them knowing each other. I mean, he lived in Mystic Falls and his father is best friends with her Dad. She hadn't completely ruled out the idea.

She chuckled and turned around to face him before she spoke, "I was what? Five? I mean, I don't really recall much…"

With that Stefan got closer helping her get the dishes into the dishwasher. He stood beside her, their shoulders almost touching and both of them could feel this electrifying pull between them. It was like gravity almost… but stronger?

Stefan grabbed the plate from her hands brushing his hand against hers while doing so before he began to speak again.

"Anyways, so… tell me about yourself, I mean, more than those five terrible facts you mentioned today in class."

Elena handed him another plate and laughed. She had been laughing quite a bit lately.

"Um, I don't know… where do I begin?"

"I have an idea, let's play the question game… We can ask each other anything that we want and then we can get to know each other better, yeah?"

Elena looked at him. He looked amazing; he was close enough that she could smell his cologne but far enough that she could see his entire body frame.

"Okay, I'm sorry but is this not kind of awkward? I mean, you're my student teacher and well you know, the word teacher is in that, and it's all very Pretty Little Liars-y and now I'm rambling like an idiot, and I suppose I'll shut up now…" Elena said while lowering her look. What was she thinking? Stefan's going to think that she is a freak who doesn't shut up.

Stefan just laughed. He found her rambling cute.

"No, not really… I mean, I'm not much older than you. I'm not an actual teacher, and well, what does talking to a beautiful girl have to do with, what was it? Pretty Little Liars?"

Elena looked up from the plate in her hand; did he just call her beautiful?

Stefan shut up before he could say anything else; did he just call her beautiful?

Elena shut the dishwasher so Stefan could not see the obvious blush on her cheeks. When she turned back around she bumped straight into Stefan's chest, he was holding a glass that she forgot on the table. It was just about to wobble and fall before Stefan caught it.

"Thanks… for the compliment and the glass…" Elena smiled.

At this point Stefan still had his other arm around Elena's back and he let go to put the glass down.

"So, let me show you around the house and what not…" Elena offered.

"Yeah, of course" Stefan replied.

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The rest of the night just consisted of Stefan and Elena sitting out back on the patio asking each other questions, talking about their lives, and themselves.

Stefan told her about his time spent in New York and all the different things he got to experience. There was a definite attraction between the two and they could not deny it. They smiled and blushed often and their conversation was easy, and it flowed. The silence was not awkward but it was pleasant. Both of them could not shake off that electrifying current that buzzed through them when they got into close proximity of each other, but they both dismissed it blaming it on the wine they had to accompany dinner.

They were well into a conversation when Stefan's phone rang. He apologized and answered to tell Katherine to go away because he was busy. Elena did not mind, she understood.

"Babe! Where are you?!" Katherine yelled, clearly not sober.

Elena froze. Did she just hear someone call him babe? Was Stefan even single? Did he have a girlfriend?

"Katherine, I'm busy right now. I'll call you later, and please make sure you get home safe. Love you, bye."

"Nooo-" Katherine got out before he hung up.

Elena just sat there, pretending she didn't hear anything, but she had to admit, hearing the word babe, and her name, Katherine, tugged at her heart a bit. She was enjoying herself with Stefan only to find out that he had a girlfriend?

"I'm sorry about that, I shouldn't have answered." Stefan said turning back around to face Elena.

Elena forced a smile on her face and said "Don't worry, Its fine…"

Giuseppe came and interrupted them before they could go on with their conversation. "Come on son, I'll drop you off at your place before we head home."

Elena got up and smiled and they all left the patio and made their way to the front door.

"Make sure you stick around this time Giuseppe, It has been way too long!" Grayson complained

"Yeah well I'm not going anywhere anymore, you're stuck with me." He countered.

They said their goodbyes, but when it came to Stefan he politely shook Grayson's hand, gave Miranda a small hug and a polite kiss on the cheek thanking her for dinner, and then he turned to Elena.

They stared at each other before Stefan broke out into a smile that left Elena breathless and made her knees weak. He came in and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug, and before he pulled away he whispered in her ear. "See you in class tomorrow."

Elena could barely breathe at this point. I mean, was he single or not? And if he was, why was he doing this? Elena just stood there dumbstruck and just opened her mouth to say bye but all that came out was "Buh-ye"

She could still feel his lips against her cheek and the smell of his cologne was potent enough for it to remain etched into her brain. There was that gravitational pull they had that made Elena want to jump in his car and go with him.

But as the door shut she just stood there looking at the door when Miranda touched her shoulder.

"Honey, close your mouth you're drooling." She joked around.

Elena snapped out of it and gave her mom a glare.

"Mom, seriously? Oh and by the way, I think we should totally invite them over for dinner again, yeah?" She smiled and said as she walked up the stairs to get ready for bed.

She got upstairs and her phone was ringing, no doubt it was Caroline.

She hit ignore seeing how she was exhausted and she changed her clothes into her boy shorts and a tank before she crawled into bed and quickly fell asleep, awaiting first period, History tomorrow.

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That was chapter three! I hope you guys liked it and leave me a review so I can get to know what you guys like and what you guys don't! Thanks for reading :)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4! I really appreciate all the reviews! Thank you so much : )

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It was 6am when Stefan's alarm clock went off and he groaned before he turned around and hit the snooze button. He had to admit, he did not want to get up. He lay in bed for another 10 minutes just thinking about last night.

Yeah he thought Elena was attractive, but things like 'hot', 'sexy', or 'fine' did not come to mind. Rather it was words like 'beautiful', 'gorgeous', 'pretty', and 'amazing'. He almost wanted to slap himself, he knew this girl for what? One day? Not including their childhood encounters that is, they were both too young to recollect anything properly.

He enjoyed spending time with her and couldn't wait until history first period this morning. Sighing he got up out of bed clad just in his black pinstripe briefs and made his way to the bathroom to get on with this daily routine.

On his way to the bathroom he noticed Nik's jeans in the hall of their apartment they shared. He shook his head when he noticed a thong beside his jeans. No doubt Nik had a girl over from last night at the bar. It was not even a weekend; it was a Tuesday for crying out loud.

He made his way to the bathroom and jumped when the door swung open revealing a perky brunette standing behind the door wearing one of Nik's shirt that was not buttoned.

Stefan just closed his eyes and looked down before he looked up and said, "Good morning"

"Uh yeah, I'm sorry, good morning… I'm Britney by the way" She replied

"Nice to meet you Britney, but I am naked right now and I would love to shower, if you don't mind." Stefan said attempting not to sound rude.

"Oh I do not mind at all, by all means, carry on!" she said before she ran off to Nik's room at the end of the hall.

Stefan shook his head in amusement and scoffed at this girl before he quickly jumped in the shower. He turned on the water and let out a sigh as the hot spray hit his body. The water cascaded down his body following the strong defined lines of his body. He dunked his head under the spray and ran his hand through his hair as the water relieved him of the tight kinks in his back.

He grabbed his body wash and squirt some on his hand and began to lather his body while under the spray to wash it all off.

He spent about 15 more minutes just standing in the shower before he shut it off and opened the curtain to find Britney doing her make up in the bathroom.

"Hi, it's Britney, right? Do you mind?" Stefan got out as he looked at this girl like she was out of her mind.

"Oh no not at all, you are a very attractive man and from the look of it you're pretty well gifted too" she winked as she looked down his entire body, zoning in on his area.

Stefan quickly grabbed a towel forgetting that he was naked in front of this girl. "Um, thanks" he said a little flustered at their encounter.

"I'm making coffee, I'll make you a cup!" She yelled out as she exited the bathroom.

"Yeah coffee sounds good…" he mumbled to himself as he wrapped the towel low on his waist as he stepped out of the shower. The towel hung low so you could see the defined 'V' line that dipped beneath the towel and his washboard abs that accompanied his god like body.

Briefly for just a smidgen of a second he imagined what it would be like if it were Elena and not Britney that he encountered both times this morning. Would she be so straight forward? He quickly brushed off that thought and went into his room to get dressed for the day. _What a great start to my day _he thought.

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"And so before he left he gave me a kiss on the cheek… and I am almost positive I was drooling after. And I think he is single but some girl named Katherine called him last night and called him babe, which really threw me off but I don't know what to make of it so I'm just not gonna do anything about it…" Elena said catching Caroline up to speed on what happened last night.

"Maybe it was a best friend, you never know! And oh my god Elena Gilbert he kissed you?!" Caroline squealed in her ear jumping up and down.

"Care" Elena reasoned right as they entered their first period history class. Ric was not here yet, and neither was Stefan. They took their seats as Bonnie came rushing in tying her hair up quickly into a pony with a huge smile on her face.

"Hey guys" she said before she sat down. Bonnie was nervous, she decided that today was the day that she was going to tell Elena about her and Jeremy. She did not know how she would react. Would she approve? Would she disapprove? Bonnie did not have an inkling of a clue.

Bonnie quietly took out her phone and texted Elena.

'_Gotta talk to you today, meet me at the bleachers after school' _

Elena took out her phone and replied, '_Yeah sure, meet you there!' _

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Stefan stepped out of his nice Ford Fusion 2013 all white with black interior. Yes his parents were loaded, and yes they provided him with this transportation but Stefan was in every single form, modest. He was more than happy to buy his own car regardless of luxury yet his parents had insisted on this gift for him.

As Stefan walked into the school his palms began sweating a little bit from the coffee he was holding in his hands, but he also thought it was due to the fact that he would see Elena again. But he pushed that thought to the back of his mind.

He turned the corner and walked down the hall to his class, opened the door and stepped in to see all the students sitting there waiting for class to begin. He walked further into the room and right there. He felt it. He felt that same electricity almost like gravity pulling at his entire being. Like this was the sole purpose he was able to stand straight. He felt all this before he even made eye contact with her. He looked up and made eye contact with a boy. Golden blonde hair spiked perfectly, muscular and tall. Stefan coughed and set his coffee down before he turned to the student.

"Hey, can I help you?" Stefan asked with complete sincerity.

"Yeah, we just wanted to know if Saltzman is in today?"

"Uh, I really don't know but if he isn't here in about five minutes I'll call down to the office and let them know… uh, I'm sorry I'm still a little unfamiliar with names. Yours is?"

"Matt" he offered.

"Okay Matt, I'll keep you posted on Saltzman." Stefan responded with a brief smile.

When Matt walked away and sat down he finally made eye contact with the person sitting right behind him. Elena.

It was like everything froze, he was just staring at her and then before he could blink she broke out into the most breathtaking smile he had ever seen. His breath caught in his throat as he gasped and smiled back at her.

Stefan waved awkwardly when he saw that Caroline was staring at him with a smile wider than Elena's.

The bell rang and everyone settled down with eager eyes waiting for Stefan to start talking.

Stefan began, "Good morning everyone, I do not believe that is here today from the looks of it, so we're just going to have to work with our textbooks! Those I will be getting to you after I am done speaking. We're going to start off local with Virginia and talk about the Civil War, so that begins on page 87-95. So get on started with those pages and then answer questions 1-7 in full answers on page 96. Finish it in class, and it will not be homework! I am collecting this tomorrow!" Stefan ended with a smile. This was the first time he had done this and he was impressed with his ability to conduct a class with such efficiency.

All this kids began to take out binders, all expect for Elena. She stared at him with that soft timid smile that greeted him on the first day. He called her up seeing as she probably had something to say to him.

He noticed that before she got up Caroline grabbed her arm and winked at her. Stefan just chuckled before Elena finally got to him.

"Uh, would you like to come get textbooks with me?" Stefan offered.

"Yeah, sure" she replied a little too eagerly. Elena stopped and mentally kicked herself for being like that.

They exited the class and walked down the hall to the history department storage room where all textbooks were held for the summer.

"I wanted to thank you for dinner last night" Stefan said breaking the silence

"Yeah it was my pleasure, I really enjoyed your company" Elena almost bit her tongue. Was that a bit too straight forward?

"I enjoyed your company too; it was nice getting to know you. I really liked getting to know you on a personal level." Stefan said as he swung his hand and it hit hers. Both of their hearts jumped out of their chests at the brief contact and they smiled at each other.

"I know this might sound crazy but, I can't be the only one who feels that right?" Elena asked warily.

"This pull? Like a shock going through your body? Yeah, no. I feel it." Stefan said stopping and looking up at her.

Elena was as brave as to stop walking as well and now they were close. They stood in front of each other their chests about a foot away from each other. Elena made the first movie to drag the tips of her fingers across the back of his hand.

Stefan carefully watched her and was pleased with the closeness of the two. Stefan was the first one to speak out.

"Uh, listen. I'm going out to dinner with my friend Nik and his lady friend Britney tonight… I was wondering if you wanted to come with? As friends of course, I mean I rather not be the third wheel tonight."

"Um, let me get back to you," Elena replied with another timid smile before she dropped her hand and reached to open the door to the room where the textbooks were stored. She felt around for the light in the dark dingy room but couldn't find it. She stepped into the room feeling around further but, she turned around really fast when she couldn't find it and bumped into Stefan's chest.

Stefan's hands quickly went to her waist holding her in place while her hands went to his chest.

But they quickly jumped apart when they heard the door shut with a loud thud. They were left in complete darkness.

"Uh Elena…" Stefan trailed off as he turned the door knob. But as he struggled to get it open he realized that it was locked from the outside.

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I hope you guys enjoyed the fourth chapter! I will continue with the in the dark room scene and will Elena actually go to dinner with Stefan or not? Keep on reviewing so I know what you guys like and what you guys do not! I am so grateful for the response this story has gotten, so thank you so much!


	5. Chapter 5

It seems like you guys have taken an interest in the previous events! I cannot thank you guys enough for the positive feedback! Here is chapter 5!

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They have been sitting there for 10 minutes just waiting for someone to conveniently pass by. The first five was spent trying to get some cell phone signal, and then the other five was spent trying to get someone's attention from the outside. Of course to no avail, both of those things were not going so well for Stefan and Elena.

They sat there across from each other in silence before Elena was the one to break the silence.

"So, , what are we supposed to do in this situation" Elena asked a bit teasingly.

"Please don't call me , that's my dad. You can just call me Stefan…" He smiled in the dark but she couldn't see his face.

Elena took out her phone and turned on the flashlight so she could better see his perfect face. When she caught a glimpse of his face she gasped just a tiny bit. He was beautiful. The light just hit the perfect places on his face emphasizing his jaw and his eyelashes that cast shadows down his cheeks. His eyes were smoldering as he looked from his hands that were lying in his lap.

"So, how are getting out of here?" Elena asked

"Wait until one of us gets signal, or until someone noticed we're missing." Stefan said with a hint of amusement.

_Shit. _Elena thought, Caroline probably noticed… and she knew what Caroline would be thinking. How would she explain this to her? She wouldn't buy this freak coincidence for even a second.

Elena sighed at let her head fall back against the shelf she was leaning against.

"You don't sound too pleased to be stuck in here with me."

_Oh on the contrary. _She thought. This was almost too perfect to be true.

"I just- you know what never mind." Elena said

Stefan just looked at her closely and studied her face. Something seemed to be bothering her so he went out on a limb and asked. "Anything bothering you, Elena?"

The way her name rolled off his tongue felt all too natural and real. Stefan ran his hand through his hair to try and shake the feeling of familiarity.

"No, not really." She got out quickly. Truth was, she was terrified of the dark and her flashlight began to dim indicating her battery was about to die.

Stefan got up to stretch his legs after sitting for so long. But when he got up the light completely went out. He heard Elena groan like a two year old so he guessed that she was afraid of the dark. Stefan decided to have a little fun with her.

"Stefan?" she called out when she could no longer hear him shuffling around. Stefan had walked all the way to the end of the narrow closet and was a good 4 meters away from her. He stopped moving and the closet fell in complete silence.

Elena began to worry but she didn't want to show that to Stefan so she sat there quietly, as Stefan made his way back to her very quietly without making any noise he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Elena"

Elena gasped and whipped her head to the side where Stefan was standing and all of a sudden her lips were a hairline away from Stefan's. She could feel his breath on her lips, and he could smell her passion fruit lip balm that covered her lips.

Stefan froze, he did not expect this. But he sure as hell was not complaining. So he slowly, yet surely reached out to cup her face and when his hand touched her face that electrifying current sparked up all over again and began radiating within them both.

Stefan could not believe he was this close to her, all he had to do was lean forward a fraction of a centimeter and their lips would collide. Elena finally managed to slow her breathing while Stefan began to rub her thumb back and forth on her cheek.

Elena closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of his hand against her cheek, but she was still because she was still unsure about what would happen.

"Stefan?" Elena finally managed to whisper, their lips barely scraping each other's.

"Lena" he responded with that deep husky voice of his that set Elena's hair on end.

And with his last words Stefan decided to go for it and began to very slowly lean forward, and just as his lips were about to touch hers the lights turned on and Stefan quickly let go of her face and stood up before the door swung open to reveal standing behind it.

"Well I figured you guys locked yourselves in here when Caroline came down to the office to let us know that you guys hadn't returned. Oh man, how long were you guys stuck in here? We should really get this door fixed. Oh well, come on Salvatore. Get Gilbert here back to your class."

In that moment Stefan had never felt so much frustration. Elena was just in shock she just stared at Tanner before he spoke again.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked wearily

"Yeah we're good" Stefan said while grabbing the cart and wheeling it out of the closet and Elena followed closely behind.

Tanner shut the door and walked away leaving Stefan and Elena alone once again.

They quietly began to walk their way back to the classroom when Elena opened her mouth to say something but decided on it otherwise.

They got back to class and neither of them had said a word. Stefan was mad that the perfect moment was ruined. He wanted to feel her lips against his own and he wanted to be able to show her that he does care. Stefan sighed and rubbed his face with both his hands.

Stefan began calling students up to distribute the textbooks while Elena was greeted by a very happy and bubbly Caroline.

"So?! Please tell me you guys got freaky in that closet!" She said a bit too loud.

"CARE!" Elena almost yelled, giving her a look that read 'are you out of your mind?

Caroline just rolled her eyes and shut up.

Elena sat there quietly thinking about what happened. She was so close to kissing him, and she wanted to very badly. She could still smell his cologne and his mint gum. She was lost in a world of Stefan when there was a knock on the door and in walked Katherine.

Stefan looked up and smiled at Katherine walking in with her hair perfectly done, her nails freshly done and she was looking damn fine.

Elena watched her carefully. She did not know who this was so she just sat there as Katherine made her way to Stefan and grabbed his bicep running her nails along his arm. She suddenly felt this urge to run her hands along his biceps and she wanted to rip her pretty little hands off of him. Was he single or not? If he wasn't, why would he hold my face like that, why would he lean in like that? _Gosh what has gotten into me_ she thought as she put her head down, deciding not to stare at them.

"Stef, I know you have 2nd lunch, that little brunette Miss. Popcorn at the front office told me. So you and I are going out for lunch! Got it? I have so much to tell you!" Katherine smiled at him.

Stefan just smiled back, he hadn't seen Katherine in a week and it felt good to be around her again.

"First of all, her name isn't Miss. Popcorn, its Mrs. Pacrany. And Second of all, hello, I am in the middle of class. Go wait in the hall."

Katherine just raised an eyebrow at him and walked away swaying her hips.

"Oh Katherine! You're paying!" Stefan called out after her.

Elena's head snapped up. _Katherine?_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Bonnie sat patiently waiting for Elena after school, she was nervous. She did not want this to put a strain on their friendship and she didn't want this to ruin anything relationship she has with either Elena or Jeremy.

So when Elena came and sat down beside her Bonnie simply smiled.

"Hey, what did you want to talk about?" Elena asked.

Bonnie took a breath, "Jeremy" she replied simply.

Elena nodded slowly not sure what she meant but she responded "okay what about him?"

"Well you know that we have been best friends forever, and with that I have also known Jer forever… And I wanted to tell you sooner but I didn't know how to say this because lets face it, how do you really say something like this?" She took another breath and reached to hold Elena's hand.

"What I am trying to say is… Jeremy and I are seeing each other."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Well there is chapter five! I hope you guys liked it! Next chapter Elena will either accept/decline Stefan's dinner request and we will also see Elena's reaction to Bonnie and Jeremy! And quite possibly see another character added! I'll leave you guys guessing! Review! Thank you so much!


	6. Chapter 6

I hoped you guys liked the last chapter! Some were confused and just to clear up confusion, Elena does not know Katherine. Her head only snapped up because she recognized her name from the night of the dinner when her call interrupted her and Stefan mid conversation! But nonetheless here is the 6th chapter! Enjoy : )

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Elena sat there letting it sink in. Her brother was dating her best friend. She loved them both very dearly yet she was worried her best friend would end up getting hurt because Jeremy was not exactly the picture perfect boyfriend. But hey, if they liked each other and they hit it off, who was Elena to say otherwise?

"Elena?" Bonnie said quietly awaiting her response patiently.

"I uh, didn't expect this, but you know what. If you guys are into each other then who am I to say anything? I just hope my brother doesn't do anything to hurt you, and vice versa!" Elena playfully scolded while standing up and pulling Bonnie up with her so she could pull her into a hug.

"Thank god, I didn't know how you would respond." Bonnie huffed into Elena's long brown hair.

They pulled away from each other smiling before Elena began "Bonnie, don't worry. I really don't mind, I just want the best for both you and I want you guys to be happy. And if my brother finds that in you, and you find that in my brother, its fine by me."

"Thank you, Elena. You have no idea how much this means to me." Bonnie smiled. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"So, how did this even begin? I mean, Jeremy?!" Elena said pretending to make a disgusted face. But she laughed it off.

"I'll have you know your brother is very sweet, okay? He knows how to make me feel special and surprisingly enough he is an amazing kis-" Bonnie got cut off by Elena. She did NOT want to know about her brother and his abilities.

"LA LA LA LA LA LA " Elena screamed while putting her hands over her ears as she ran down the bleachers and away from Bonnie. Bonnie quickly ran after her in a fit of giggles.

They reached Bonnie's car and before they got in Bonnie just stuck her tongue out at Elena, both of them out of breath.

"Get used to it Lena!" Bonnie sing songed as she got in the driver side.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was 3:30 when Stefan got home, and he had to be ready for the dinner by 7pm. So he decided to go on a jog, and then hit the library before he got ready for the night.

Stefan slowly undressed himself thinking about Elena. There was a definite attraction between the two yet he felt like there was something that was holding Elena back. And he didn't know what that was. _Oh shut it, Salvatore. She digs you! She feels that electricity that you do! _

Speaking of Elena, Stefan had no clue if she was going to come to dinner with him tonight. He needed a way of contacting her, but they never exchanged numbers.

_Fuck me, just my luck. _ He thought. How was he going to solve this? Maybe she just doesn't want to go, that's why she never got back to him. He now lay shirtless on his bed running his hands over his face in frustration. He wanted her to be there, not just because of the whole third wheel thing, but because he wanted to be near her. He was drawn to her almost like a magnet.

He got up and got dressed for his jog and headed out running along his usual path when all of a sudden it hit him. He stopped on the sidewalk and pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts before he found who he was looking for.

The phone rang as he waited before someone picked up.

"Hello" The icy voice rang. He could almost hear the smirk in his voice. Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Damon, why are you picking up dads phone? If I needed you, I would have called you."

"Ugh, can't you just talk to me like a normal brother? I mean, can we get over the fact that I slept with Katherine?" Damon said in a sad puppy voice towards the end.

Stefan twitched thinking of them together. He didn't really care who Katherine was with but if it was his brother, he very much cared. That's just, weird!

"Damon, I'm over it. Now give dad the phone, I need to talk to him." Stefan asked politely, just so he would do so.

Stefan and Damon were the typical brothers. They annoyed the hell out of each other, planned diabolical things together as children, played sports together and even played pranks. But they were inseparable. Their bond was amazing, they would do anything for each other and they loved each other dearly. However, Damon was more of the playboy type. He knew how to treat a lady; he treated them with the utmost respect. It's just he respected a different one every other night. And lately Katherine and him have been spending some time together and he didn't know how he felt about that.

There was a huge dramatic sigh before Damon called out like a 4 year old, breaking up the word into two syllables.

"Da-aaaaaaaaad"

Stefan just scoffed and shook his head

"Damon, you know one day dad is just going to beat you. Do you have any idea how annoyed he gets when you call him like that? You aren't 5 anymore, jeez"

Damon laughed a good hearty laugh before he replied and handed the phone off to their father "Bye steffy poo"

"Damon stop this nonsense, you are a Salvatore, and moreover, you are 25 years old." He scolded

Stefan just laughed. Hearing Damon get into any sort of trouble is just as funny as it was when they were kids.

"Stefan, what can I do for you, son?"

"I needed Grayson's number"

"Whatever for?"

_Shit. _He hadn't thought about this.

"Just, because"

"Elena?"

_How does he know EVERYTHING?_ Stefan thought.

"Mhm" he mumbled sheepishly.

"I'll have Damon text it over to you, son"

"Thanks dad, bye" and with that he hung up.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena rolled around on her bed soaking up the sun that was shining through her open window. She loved everything about nature.

All of a sudden the home phone rang but no one was home, so she got up and ran down stairs in a hurry not to miss the call.

By the time she got to the phone she was out of breath when she answered

"Hello?" she breathed into the phone

"Mrs. Gilbert! It's Stefan" he formally introduced himself, wanting to make a good impression and all.

Elena broke out into the biggest smile. He was such a goof. But she decided to play along for a bit.

"Hey Stefan, how are you?" She said trying to sound motherly in a sense.

Stefan felt his heart beat faster when he heard the voice over the phone say his name. This was not Miranda. How on earth did this weird feeling transcend through technology? He was baffled.

"I am doing great, I had an amazing day…" he slowed down before he began again, he was going to get a good jab at Elena. "I almost kissed the most amazing girl I've ever met today"

And with that Elena blushed, feeling so heated with the blood rush that she had to take the phone away from her ear to take a deep breath. She had a feeling he caught on.

"Oh? And who was this girl? If I may" Elena responded barely able to repress the giggles.

"Um, just someone I know. And I actually needed to talk to that beautiful someone. I uh, wanted to know if this someone would still like to accompany me tonight to dinner." Stefan got out. All of a sudden he was a bit nervous, and he had no clue why. What was it about this girl that made him feel like this?

Elena forgot about his offer and was almost ashamed that she didn't get to him sooner. She thought about it for a second and all she could hear was Caroline nagging her if she didn't go.

"Well said girl would love to accompany you tonight, Mr. Salvatore," Elena blushed

"Hey, didn't I tell you Mr. Salvatore was my father?" Stefan teased

"Yeah, I guess you did…" she trailed off

"Okay, well I guess I'll see you tonight pretty lady. Is it okay if I pick you up at 6:30?" he inquired

"6:30 sounds great, and I am really appreciating the charm you're working on me… Thank you, for the compliments."

"Ah, what's a compliment for a pretty girl like you? I'll see you tonight 'Lena" Stefan said

When Elena hung up she just stood there for a couple seconds before she looked up at her ceiling and shrieked! She ran upstairs to shower and get ready. She was most definitely excited about seeing Stefan tonight, with or without his friends present. _This should be a good night_ she thought.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When Stefan got off the phone, Nik just walked in the door with a bubbly Britney trailing behind him.

"Hey you two" Stefan called out from his spot on the couch.

"Hello mate" Nik said in with deep, British accent filled voice.

Nik came around to sit on the couch beside Stefan as Britney went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

"Hey Nik, remember that girl Elena I was telling you about? When we were talking before I went to that dinner with my folks?" Stefan asked.

"Ah yes, the lovely Elena. How is she, I must ask." Nik said with a smirk in his voice.

"She's good, actually she is more than good. She is amazing, and I wanted to know if she could come to dinner tonight with us. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, I would love to meet this girl that has my lad so smitten, and lost in his own thoughts." Nik teased.

"Yeah well you'll meet her, and hey, hands off, she's mine." Stefan warned

"Oh come on mate, a little look doesn't do anyone any harm. And yours now, is she?" Nik laughed

Stefan rolled his eyes seeing as he would never win with Nik.

"Oh and what is the deal with that one?" Stefan whispered as he motioned to the kitchen.

Nik just shrugged. "I'm not quite sure, I just wanted a fun night, and now she wants dinner… I need to solve this. Oh Stefan, today I was at the grill with Britney over there, and I saw the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on."

"Nik, you have a girl standing in the kitchen. Get rid of her, and then talk" Stefan teased as he got up to shower.

Stefan made his way to the shower with the promise of a good night.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

So here is chapter 6! Let me know what you guys think in a review! And thank you so much for reviewing and giving this story the attention that it has received thus far! : )


	7. Chapter 7

Hi again! I am so sorry for the late update, but like almost every other person on here my life got hectic with school and what not. So I apologize on that front, but alas, here is ch.7

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Elena excitedly showered and decided to get ready. It was at The Grill so nothing too fancy, but she still wanted to look good because… well can't a girl just look good?! She stood in front of her closet at 5pm with two hours until Stefan would pick her up and she had no idea what to wear. She finally thought of something and with a smile reached in to grab something but before she could put her hands on anything the doorbell rang. With an exasperated sigh she went downstairs to open the door to reveal a crying Caroline with Miranda, her mother.

"Caroline what's wrong?" Elena asked completely worried for her best friend. She grabbed Caroline by the arm and pulled her in for a comforting hug while Caroline cried on her shoulder. Miranda decided to give them a little privacy so she walked by them placing her hands on both of their shoulders while slowly whispering, "I'll put a cup of tea on for us, it'll help"

Miranda was the type to patch things up. She was an amazing mother and knew how to handle anything, and everything. Jeremy's rebellious streak, druggie streak (which didn't last too long), and every single crisis Elena ever flung her way. Elena idolized her mother, as they were so close. Miranda was the strongest woman Elena knew. She was caring and kind and warm. She cared for Elena's friends like her own daughters and she knew the right thing to say to make everything okay.

Elena waited until Caroline calmed down a bit before she moved them to the couch to sit down more comfortably. Elena rubbed her spot in between Caroline's shoulder comfortingly before she began slowly and quietly, "What happened, Care?"

Caroline sat up some and sniffled before she started explaining.

"I was at The Grill, wanting to get a coffee before I came over here and Tyler and I had just gotten into a fight the night before but I didn't make much of it because well, it wasn't much, to me at least. So I walk in and Amy fucking Bradley is sitting on his lap… At first I was just so very angry. And then I left because I was so done with Tyler and all the bullshit he entails so I went out and sat on the bench hoping to get some air to get rid of all this anger and then the anger turned to sadness, and then your mom came out of The Grill with her own coffee and saw me…"

Elena sat there listening to everything coming out of her mouth. She was angry at Tyler for hurting Caroline, but at the same time was kind of relieved that it came to an end.

"Care, you know I care about you, right? And maybe this was for the best…you don't deserve to be treated like that. You are an amazing girl, you are Caroline Forbes you do not need a man to make you" She said as she added a little sass towards the end that made Caroline giggle and smile.

"You're right, I do not. So, wanna go man hunting tonight?" She joked around lightly, but you could still see the hurt in her eyes.

"Actually Care, I'm going out to dinner with Stefan tonight…" Elena spoke quietly.

Caroline dropped the tissue in her hand and stood up so fast it made Elena's head spin.

"So you sat there and LET ME CRY HELLO HI, YOU ARE GOING ON A DATE WITH STEFAN SALVATORE… oh my god. What are you wearing? Where are you going? When are you going?"

At this point Miranda came in to see an excited Caroline towering over Elena, and Elena sitting there with both her eyebrows raised in amusement.

Miranda put the cups on the table, "Yeah Elena, where are you going with Stefan?" Miranda asked with a knowing smile.

Elena stood up and looked at her mom and then at Caroline, "First of all, it is not a date. I am accompanying him and his best friend because he did not want to be a third wheel. We are going to The Grill, and he will be here to pick me up in about an hour and a half"

Caroline, completely forgetting her own issues, bounced over to Miranda and put her arm around her shoulders and then leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Elena just stood there with a questioning look before she said, "What are you saying to my mother Caroline"

Miranda just laughed when Caroline pulled away with a smile.

"Sweet heart," Miranda began "You were stuck in a closet with Stefan today?" she ended that question in a fit of giggles.

"I am going to go get ready, while you guys sit here and fan girl over my life!" Elena said as she went upstairs.

"So Caroline, wanna sleep over and keep me company? We can watch movies and stuff. Jeremy is out, and Grayson is working late tonight. And it'll help take your mind off some things." Miranda offered smiling.

"Um, Yes please. I'll get the ice cream! Oh and you can help me with carnival ideas! It's coming up in a week!" And with that Caroline skipped to the kitchen to get the ice cream to get ready for her night.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan stood in front of the mirror doing his hair when he heard a big smash coming from the living room. It sounded like something expensive. He flung open the door to find Britney holding yet another one of the vases aimed at Nik's head, and the other broken one scattered in pieces on the floor.

"What the fuck is going on" Stefan boomed making his presence known.

As soon as his voice reached their ears, Nik stood up and ran behind Stefan while Britney dropped the vase, screamed and stormed out of the apartment.

"Nik, what the fuck is going on, seriously." Stefan said anger evident in his tone of voice.

"I don't know what she was going on about, but apparently I fraternized with her sister who goes by the name of Melissa. But I do not recollect a Melissa; I do recollect a Marissa, however." Nik said almost with amusement.

Stefan sighed, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could care less about the vase, or about Britney, or about Nik's playboy streak. He was just worried about the plans for dinner that were just sabotaged.

"Just, clean this up." Stefan said with exasperation as he left the apartment to go pick up Elena.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena stood in front of the mirror checking to see if everything looked okay, and she had to admit. She looked good. She was wearing a nice beige summer dress that reached just before her knees, with a nice jean vest that showed her bare arms. Her hair was in their natural loose waves from her shower and she applied little makeup to top it all off.

When she got downstairs Miranda and Caroline each had a spoon of ice cream in their mouth while they were so deeply engrossed in their movie. They did not even realize Elena was standing there until Elena cleared her throat making her presence known.

"O-M-G, Elena you look so good! Stefan's gonna be caught in a tizzy" Caroline joked with a wink. Miranda only laughed and agreed with Caroline.

"Honey, you look amazing. I want you to have fun tonight, and try to be home before midnight please." Miranda said just as the doorbell rang.

Elena felt her heart drop at the sound of the doorbell.

"Thanks Care, and will do mom. If you need anything just call me. Bye guys, have fun! And Care, you don't need to stay up if I'm late, just head on up into bed whenever you're ready. Love you guys" Elena said while walking to the door.

She opened the door and there stood Stefan with a single rose, wearing his signature beaming smile that made Elena weak in the knees.

"Hi, you look… beautiful" Stefan got out. Stefan thought he had never seen anything as pretty as her before. She looked perfect to him, and his nerves began to subside in the presence of this girl who could do unthinkable things to Stefan Salvatore.

Elena blushed and looked him up and down from head to toe. He was wearing deep blue jeans with a white v neck accompanied with a black cardigan that hung open. The shirt allowed Elena to see the defined muscles of his chest, and hey, she was not complaining.

"Thanks, you look pretty good yourself" Elena said.

Stefan gave Elena the rose which she accepted and thanked him for as they walked to his car. He stopped and opened the door for her which made Elena smile. He got in the passenger side and simply turned to her first before he started the car.

"Okay, here is the deal. Nik and Britney got into a fight, so it is just you and I tonight. I hope that's okay…" Stefan asked hopefully.

Elena smiled and reached for his hand that rested on his thigh, "That is fine with me" she smiled.

"Good, that's good" Stefan said as he started the car and pulled out.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"I was 8! What was I supposed to do!? So I just kicked him in the shin and ran!" Elena laughed as they walked hand in hand by the stream right by The Grill.

They have finished dinner and it was now nearing 9o'clock, and they were fully immersed into the conversation about their first kiss.

"So, an 11 year old boy kisses you, making that your very first kiss, and then you kick him and run" Stefan shook his head and just laughed.

At this point Stefan stopped and just stared out into the small body of water with the sun setting slowly. It was perfect. Dinner had gone nicely; they exchanged longing stares when in silence and casual touching when in a conversation. They brushed each other's arms, and playfully smacked when another when one would begin to tease the other. It felt natural; it was like they completely skipped the awkward part and went to comfortable.

They were standing there quietly hand in hand just watching the sun set when Stefan lowered his lips to her ear to whisper in it.

"What if I were to kiss you right now? Would you kick me and run?" His voice sounded husky and deep and it made her hair stand on end and it made her heartbeat pick up its pace.

Elena whispered back, completely new with this whole teasing and flirting game they have been playing all night, "Why don't you find out"

With that Stefan let go of her hand to cup her face, they both stared into each other's eyes while Stefan was leaning forward inch by inch. Right before their lips touched Stefan whispered, "Still haven't kicked me..."

Elena brought her foot back and swung it forward lightly kicking him in the shin causing Stefan to lean forward and their lips met molding to one another perfectly. Stefan closed his eyes allowing himself to get lost in the kiss, but before he knew it Elena was pulling away but was leaning her forehead onto his.

"Stef…" she whispered, her lips still scraping his with each murmur of her voice.

"Lena…" he countered before bringing his lips back to hers. His arms went to her hips holding her there while Elena flung her arms around his neck allowing her body to mold to his.

When they both pulled away they were breathless and they both had their eyes closed. Elena was the first to open her eyes and slowly Stefan opened his eyes to reveal his green orbs.

Stefan just looked at this girl in awe, because everything he felt, he knew she felt it too. That current was buzzing and they were both on edge coming back down from the high they were on. They equally got lost in the kiss and all they could see was the other.

Stefan chuckled, "You kicked me"

"I was speeding up the process" Elena countered.

"Fine by me" Stefan leaned down to leave a small peck on her cheek before he pulled away and began their walk back to the car hand in hand.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That was chapter 7! Please let me know what you guys think! I really appreciate all the feedback because then I am able to get a sense of what you guys like and do not like! So thank you guys, and leave me a review! And yes, the carnival is coming to mystic high and we are gonna see some kissing booths, and some dunk tanks!


	8. Chapter 8

Hi again! From the looks of it people were pleased with the last chapter and I can only hope that this measures up! Thank you so much for reviewing :)

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When Stefan got home he was bubbling with joy. His date had gone more than well and he was so glad to have spent more time with Elena and got to know her better. He obviously felt something for Elena and her presence alone was enough to affect his train of thought. The way her nose scrunched up when she giggled, or the way her eyes just lit up whenever a smile crossed her face was perfect. Her perfume was permanently etched into his brain. And the feel of her lips against his own was something he was not going to forget any time soon. They molded perfectly to his, and the way her hand fit perfectly into his own. Stefan felt like he was going crazy, he has not known Elena for long, yet what he's feeling is saying so much more.

Stefan quietly made his way to his room trying not to disturb, a surprisingly, sleeping Nik. He got into his room and it was dark and he slowly began to take his clothes off and he fell on his bed in his boxers, when he hit something, and that something yelped.

"Get off me right now Stef!" Katherine stage whispered.

"Kath what are you doing here" Stefan asked as he rolled off of her and onto the empty side of the bed.

"Ugh, I was out with your brother… and I wanted to talk to you about him." Katherine explained, while Stefan just gave her a look.

"Don't look at me like that you know Damon and I are bed buddies." She said in that Katherine-y voice of hers which was laced with the perfect combination of sexy and seductive. But when she began again, it wasn't laced with that seduction, rather it was vulnerability and it made Stefan's heart hurt because he never wants to hear Katherine like that.

"But, is it in my best interest if I feel something more, now? I mean, Damon is Damon. The sex is great but, he is also this sweet guy with the whole badass aura and somehow I can see beyond that… I'm starting to fall for him and it's scaring me... you know your brother the best…are these feelings in vain?" Katherine asked sounding broken almost.

Stefan moved over to grab her hand, before he began slowly "Kath, my brother could pretend to be the biggest ass in the world, but he is harmless. You know I want nothing but the best for you, and I care about you so much because you're my best friend. But if it's Damon you want, you need to be having this conversation with him…It's fine to be feeling these things, not everyone is going to leave you as broken as Kol did…Bring that guard of yours that is so high up, down a little. There is a beautiful girl in there, Kat… and she deserves to be loved…" Stefan said.

Stefan always knew the right thing to say. Katherine was in awe yet again over her best friend and his words. It was like magic with him, they just flowed so easily and sincerely that you know it comes from a place of pure sincerity. His words moved Katherine to tears thinking about what Kol had done to her after she had given him her all.

"Stefan, why are you so perfect and nice to me?" She asked with wonder and amazement.

"Something I was born with" he teased, "come on, get some sleep here. I'll go out on the couch." Stefan offered as he pulled the covers back and tucked her in as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Stef, how was your date" She asked, and you could immediately hear the shift in tone in her voice.

"It was perfect Kat, Elena is perfect." Stefan simply stated.

"Do I get to meet this Elena that has my boy so smitten? I mean, come on, if she wants to be with you, then she has to get to know me and put up with me because we are a package deal." Katherine said.

"Soon Kat, let me get to a good place with her first before I introduce the biggest pain in my ass to her." He joked as he dodged the book Katherine had in her hands that came flying at his head.

Stefan just laughed and yelled goodnight as he went out to the couch for a goodnights sleep full of dreams of Elena.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was now changed and settled into bed under the covers when an eager Caroline turned around and grabbed her hand. Elena's heart jumped because she thought Caroline would be sleeping by now.

"Care, Jesus Christ I thought you were asleep" Elena said

"I was waiting up for you! I wanted to know all about your date. So come on, spill. Did you kiss? Did you let him get to second base at least? Please tell me you were not a prude..." Caroline asked with genuine worry.

Elena just laughed at her best friend. "It was good Care. He is so different and sweet. Being around him makes me feel all giddy. These are things Matt never made me feel… And to answer your question, yes we kissed." Elena announced blushing at the memory of how their lips molded perfectly together and how it left her breathless and in dire need for more.

Caroline quickly shot up in bed into a sitting position still holding Elena's hand. She squealed with excitement before shamelessly inquiring more "with or without tongue?"

Elena blushed a deep red and tore her hand away so she could fall back into bed throwing the blanket over her head.

Caroline laughed and got under the blanket with her. "Oh come on Elena! Tongue or no tongue?", She asked.

"No tongue Miss. Forbes. It wasn't that kind of kiss. It was nice, slow and sweet." Elena said smiling. Elena was not the one to be gushing about these details but there was something about Stefan that made her want to get on the roof of her house and just jump and squeal.

"BOH-RINGG" Caroline sang.

Elena gave her friend a pressing look.

"Oh you know what I mean Elena. Would you have wanted to add a little more action?"

"Yes. I would. He is extremely attractive, and his arms are so muscular." Elena said dreamily.

"Speaking of muscular…I want to see that sexy bod of his. SO, I had an idea. Can we put him in the dunk tank or kissing booth for next week's carnival?" Caroline asked slowly, yet enthusiastically gauging her reaction.

"Dunk tank, yes please. It'll give me an excuse to ogle him. But kissing booth? No." Elena said. Sure she didn't have any sort of claim on him, yet, but she didn't want the entire school kissing him! Surely there's nothing wrong with wanting that.

"Thought so, but hey look at you getting all defensive" Caroline teased while poking Elena in the side.

"I'm not getting defensive" Elena said getting defensive.

"Yeah, and I love chemistry" Caroline countered.

Before Elena could get a jab in, her phone on her side table buzzed. Caroline quickly threw the blanket off, and jumped on Elena reaching over her to her side to grab her phone before she could.

"Caroline give me my phone right now, don't you dare do or say anything Caroline Forbes"

Caroline had the phone in her hand smiling at Elena knowingly. Caroline opened the text from Stefan.

Caroline coughed before she began to read the text message in a formal voice, "I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed myself tonight, and I would love it if we could see one another outside of the classroom this weekend."

Elena felt her heart palpitate at his request to see her again.

"Caroline, give me my phone"

Caroline reluctantly came back to bed and handed her phone to Elena but at the same time cuddling into her side so she can see what her response would be. Caroline's head now rested on Elena's shoulder and her arm came down to link onto hers.

Elena just rolled her eyes before she began typing her message, "_I had an amazing time with you and I would love to see you again this weekend ;)"_

"Elena please step up on your flirting game." Caroline complained.

Stefan sent her a text back with "_Awesome, I shall pick you up on Friday at the same time. Good night, beautiful." _

Elena smiled while Caroline was too busy squealing and dying of cuteness.

"_Good night Stef, xoxo"_ Elena sent back.

"Okay Caroline, you can let go now" Elena said referring to the grip she had on her arm.

"Ugh you guys are so cute…" Caroline trailed off

Elena could sense that sadness creeping back in because of Tyler when she saw the tears threatening to spill in Caroline's eyes.

"Care, come here" Elena said bring her arms up around her shoulders comforting her while they lay there.

"It's okay; you don't deserve someone who is interested in other women when they have you. Don't worry, I assure you that by the end of the week you will have your eyes set on someone else." Elena said jokingly, yet with a hint of truth behind her words.

Caroline just sniffed and nodded as she pulled away from her embrace to get some sleep.

"Get some sleep Care, you'll feel better tomorrow" Elena said rubbing Caroline's arm.

"Thank you for everything Elena" Caroline said before she gave her a smile and laid back down getting ready to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I hope you guys liked that! Even though it was a bit of a filler. And I apologize for it being so short. I wanted to give you guys something, rather than nothing. School is going to get hectic because I have nothing but deadlines coming up so I will try my best to get another chapter up next weekend! Leave a review telling me what you think! Thank you so much =)


	9. Chapter 9

I am so incredibly sorry for not updating sooner but things got a little hectic with my family leaving for vacation and what not, so I apologize but I am back! And here is chapter 9!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They went on their second date and were finally moving forward in their relationship, if that's what you could call it. Neither of them wanted to complicate things so soon so they refrained from giving themselves a label. They loved spending time with each other and they couldn't get enough of each other. Slowly they learned every little detail about each other and now they knew each other like the back of their hands. They were at a good place together. They exchanged longing glances in class and were now fluent in the language of looks. They were giddy around each other and they made each other nervous. They were both engrained in the others memory. They would kiss and hold hands and soft brushes of the arms and hands would both send their nerves skyrocketing and it would put their hairs on end.

Elena was happy and she was thinking about Stefan as she was walking around looking at the huge success of the carnival. Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler and her made sure it was a hit because the proceeds for his carnival would go towards their senior year trip to study the history of Barcelona. They were beyond excited and were putting in all effort that they could.

Elena continued to walk around when she realized that there was a huge line at one of the booths. And if she wasn't mistaken, that was where the kissing booth was supposed to be set up. Elena curiously made her way through the mass of people to see who it was that Caroline had gotten to volunteer for this booth but when Elena got about 3 quarters of the way in she bumped into Caroline who was trying to do the same thing.

"Care, who is at the kissing booth?" Elena asked as she continued to dodge the crowd of people around her.

"I do not know why don't you go ask your boyfriend?" Caroline mocked completely distracted.

"Care, he's not my boyfriend and plus, he was supposed to be at the dunk tank… so who's here…" Elena trailed off before she saw someone standing on the booth making an announcement. She had never seen this person before but he was extremely attractive. He had short hair, a little curly and it was a nice honey brown colour. He had a defined jaw and was wearing a black V neck with black jeans and he spoke with a British accent.

Before he even finished his announcement Caroline grabbed Elena's arm and was swooning. "Elena, I have never seen such a gorgeous man before. Who is he? Where did he come from and why am I not the first person in this line? Good, God." Caroline whined before she bolted to the front of the line. Elena just giggled and shook her head at her friend. She was no longer worried, Caroline could figure out who that was.

She walked a bit more when she spotted Jeremy throwing darts at the balloons trying to win Bonnie the big Koala she was pointing to. She had to admit, they were cute and she was extremely happy because both of them made each other happy. She made a right and found the dunk tank and that made her heart jump a little.

She was looking around for Stefan but she couldn't find him anywhere near the dunk tank. She was confused because she had told him to be at the tank for 12 and it was now 12:30. She took her phone out of her back pocket to see that he had left her a text. She must have been so busy in running around and making sure that everything was perfect that she hadn't realized that her phone had buzzed. She opened the text and read, "_Meet me in room 212" _

_S_he smiled as she walked towards the school and towards their history room. When she got to the room the window was covered and the door was locked so she knocked in hopes of finding Stefan there. Before she could knock a third time the door swung open and their eyes made contact. Both of them broke out into smiles upon seeing each other. They whispered hi to each other before Stefan grabbed her and dragged her into the classroom.

"What are you doing in here? Shouldn't you be out there?" Elena asked as she sat down on a desk beside Stefan.

"Yeah but I was having a hard time trying to paint our mascot on my chest, the one Caroline insisted I have. Which I don't get why, I'm gonna get wet anyway." Stefan said with a roll of his eyes.

Elena's breath caught in her throat at the idea of seeing Stefan's chest. She knew it was strong from the many times she was caught in his embrace and from the times her hand would find their place on his chest as he nuzzled her nose and kissed her forehead.

"So you want me to paint your chest?" Elena inquired pursing her lips.

"Yeah, if you don't mind…" Stefan said.

Oh hell she did not mind. But she couldn't show that, "Yeah sure, where is the paint" she asked.

She turned around and went to the back of the class to get paint but when she turned back around Stefan was lifting his shirt up and this was the first time she had seen him without a shirt. Sure she thought he was muscular but she did not think he had those cuts. He had cuts in places she didn't think was possible. As her eyes wandered all over his body she had the sudden urge to run her hand all over his body and kiss her way down his chest.

Stefan's cough broke her from her reverie.

"Oh come on, you can't be that surprised." Stefan said feigning insult.

"Sorry, it's just…"

"Your first time seeing me shirtless, I understand" Stefan said smiling at her knowingly. He knew he had this effect on her and he was enjoying every bit of it.

"Yeah, wait I mean, no." Elena got out trying to justify her ogling.

Stefan narrowed his eyes before he walked over to her and grabbed the paint out of her hands and placed it on the desk behind her. He now stood before her and she was watching him with wonder awaiting his next move. He slowly placed his hands on her hips and moved her so he was leaning against the desk and she was standing between his legs.

"What are you doing?" Elena whispered unable to take her eyes off of his and unable to feel anything else but his hands placed upon his hips.

"Something" he simply responded.

Elena's hands now pressed against his bare chest and she loved the way it felt under her fingertips. Stefan looked up at her with a smoldering look before he leaned up to place his lips right below her ear. His breath was sending shivers up and down her spine and before she could pull away to look at his face he moved his lips up a fraction of an inch to whisper, "I was thinking" he placed a small kiss on her ear before he began again "what we are" his moved his face down a little so his nose skid along the side of her cheek, "and what we're doing here" he ended with a small kiss to her cheek.

At this point Elena was feeling light headed a bit and he was trying to form proper thoughts. So opened her mouth to answer him even though she was sure whatever she was about to say would only come out in a whimper.

"And what do you think we're doing here" she said with a bit more will power than she thought she had. She almost sounded seductive, but with no intent.

Stefan smiled before he pulled back to see her face.

"Well, I was thinking we were moving to a better place with one another. And I was thinking…" he trailed off as he reached down to grab her hand and intertwine their fingers and bring it up to his lips and place a kiss on it, "that I want you to be mine." He said topping it off with a million dollar smile.

Elena was smiling at this point. She was happy with where they were and of course she wanted to try and take the next step, see where it would go, if it would go anywhere to begin with.

She looked up from their intertwined hands and let go of his to reach up and place her hands around his neck before she responded.

"I wanna be yours" she said simply before his lips crashed down onto hers sealing the deal then and there. His hands moved from her hips to encircle her entire back and hug her to his body while her hands remained around his neck. They kissed sweetly before Stefan pulled away to smile at her.

"Good, but I have one question. What we're doing here, its legal right?" Stefan said jokingly but also with a hint of seriousness.

"Relatively, I mean, I'm turning 18 in a couple of months and technically you aren't an actual teacher here…" she said smiling at him.

"Good, last thing I want is to be thrown behind bars for shacking up with one of my students."

"Shacking up with one of your students? Is that what we're doing? And is that what I am to you? One of your students?" She teased.

"No, you're mine. That's what you are" he said before he kissed her again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What I feel for you goes beyond our little bed flings, why don't you understand that?" Katherine said finally showing this vulnerable side of her.

Damon sighed as he moved closer to her on the couch and placed his hand on top of hers.

"I understand, I really do because I feel this too. But what I'm saying is that you can do so much better than me. I am such a lost cause." He said looking at her with sadness. Those piercing blue eyes were as deep as the sea and displayed so many hidden emotions. Emotions he refused to show. Maybe that's why he and Katherine got along so well.

"I don't want to do better than you Damon, and you're not a lost cause." Katherine said moving to place her arm on his shoulder.

"Kat, if we do this, you know there's no going back right?" Damon said

"And I don't want to go back. Damon, I know this might be too soon but I think I'm falling in love with you and I just don't want these feelings to be in vain. So tell me now if these feelings are in vain Damon." Katherine said not wanting to hear the answer herself.

Damon sighed and ran his hands over his face before he turned around with a smile on his face which made Katherine smile.

He stood up and said, "Well" and he tackled her on the couch and she was in a fit of giggles as he placed a kiss on her lips with eager passion before he pulled away.

"So you think you're falling in love with me huh?" Damon mocked giving her his signature smirk.

"Shut up and kiss me Damon." She said before his lips silenced her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Alright who is up next?" Screamed the student monitoring the dunk tank that oh so conveniently got moved next to the kissing booth for promotional purposes.

Stefan sat there waiting for the next person, he had been dunked a handful of times all day and was losing count. These kids in Mystic Falls were beasts at their aim.

Elena tapped the student on the shoulder before giving him 5 dollars for 5 balls.

"I'll have a go at it" she said innocently.

"Sure thing, step right up and try your best! All 5 dunks and you can get a prize!"

A prize? She did not remember the dunk tank giving out prizes so she decided to go out on a limb and ask.

"Yeah! If someone gets five dunks in a row they win a date with over there!" he pointed to Stefan who had a wide beaming smile as he waved and sung his legs back and forth in anticipation.

A date with Stefan? How dare he give that up for an offer? Elena gave Stefan a little glare before she turned back to the student and grabbed all five balls.

"Okay" she said simply before she picked up a ball and whipped it with all her force at the target and hit the lever which released the seat Stefan was sitting on. Down he went into the water only to come back up to say, "Oh come on, what was that for? You want the date that bad?"

"Oh I'm just getting warmed up _Mr. Savlatore_" she called back with a smile mocking the use of his last name.

She flung another one, and down he went. And another, and another and another. And before he knew it, she was out of balls to throw.

"I'll take care of it from here, we're closing up. Thanks Jimmy" she said to the student before he nodded and walked away. The carnival had been fun and now it was closing up and no one was here anymore besides the people who volunteered to help.

She walked over to the tank where Stefan was still swimming in and she leaned in to grab his by the arm.

"Excuse me, why are you pawning off dates? I thought we established that you're mine" she pouted.

Stefan stood up and stepped out of the tank to walk to the back behind the sign for the dunk tank to get his towel.

She followed right after him without hearing an answer.

When they got to the back her turned around and grabbed Elena and picked her up bridal style before running back and throwing her in the water of the tank and she screamed his name, he followed right after her and went right in with her.

"I am yours, and guess who just won that date with me" he said swimming over to her and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Stefan I am going to kill you I didn't bring a pair of clothes" she said smacking him on his chest playfully.

"Well then I guess you're just gonna have to go home naked" he suggested.

"Funny"

"I wasn't trying to be"

"So stop"

They bickered back and forth before they saw Caroline walk up to the tank.

"I give you five minutes before I tell you to get out and get back to work you love birds" she said before she walked away. She stopped and turned around and said "Oh by the way Stefan, I met your friend Nik. May God bless you for bringing him into that kissing booth, he is talented with that tongue. " she said with a smile before she walked away.

"Oh my god. That was you? You brought in that guy?" Elena asked

"Yeah, he's my best friend. I also share an apartment with him." Stefan said.

"Well he is extremely attractive, and that accent of his is to die for."

"Wait, you mean this accent?" He said trying to impersonate a British accent.

Elena laughed before brought herself closer to him and leaned on her shoulder. "His is better" she said casually.

Stefan turned around and placed a kiss on her forehead as he chuckled.

"So where do you want to go for that date babe?" He asked.

Her heart fluttered at the sound of that. He had never called her babe before, and now that they were official she would have tons of time to get used to it.

"Anywhere you take me is fine by me" she said pressing her lips against his.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

So that is chapter 9! The longest one yet! I hope you liked it and leave me a review letting me know what you think! Thank you so much!


	10. Chapter 10

I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! And I want to thank all of you for the reviews especially notorrious! Your reviews really inspire and help me write! So, here is chapter 10!

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"That's a grand total of $6,534." Caroline said with disappointment.

Elena couldn't believe it. They worked so hard and the carnival was such a success but they still didn't manage to raise enough money.

Caroline moved to sit on the chair across from Elena who sat with Bonnie on her right, and Stefan hovering by the door shooting Elena longing glances.

"Well, the deal was that we needed $8,000 for 10 students, and the school would pay the rest." Bonnie reminded them.

At this point Stefan was a bit lost. He did not know of any deal so he decided to put his input in. He walked until he stood beside Caroline.

"Fair enough, don't you think? I have a preposition for you guys though" he said with a hint of a smile on his face.

"What did you have in mind?" Caroline asked.

"Well" Stefan began, "What if I pay that difference?" he suggested with ease.

Elena who has looking at her nails dropped her hand and stood up to look at him. She couldn't believe that Stefan would do such a thing, let alone recommend it. I mean, yeah Stefan was kind of loaded but he was the further thing from cocky.

"No, you can't do that" Elena said right off the bat.

Everyone shot her a look like she was crazy. Was she really blowing off a chance to spend a week in Barcelona?

"Oh?" Stefan challenged chuckling at her.

Elena looked at him and gave him an incredulous look asking him if he was being serious. They had been official for a week and half and by now they knew the single glances of each other. They could comprehend each other beyond normal people. They stared at each other almost getting lost. They could not believe that they belonged to each other now. Being official was different; it was like a permission slip. They could touch, grab, and kiss each other now without thinking it over. They were together now and they were happy.

"As soon as you guys are done eye fucking each other, we can get back to the issue at hand!" Caroline suddenly let out.

"CARE" Bonnie scolded smacking her in the back of the head.

Elena gave Caroline a questioning look.

Stefan just stood there awkwardly. Yeah they wanted to keep their relationship on the DL, but they did not expect such vulgar comments to be thrown around.

Stefan broke the silence and chuckled before he walked to Elena.

"Well now that Caroline here has broken the ice and confirmed our lingering stares…" he trailed off before he got to Elena grabbed her by the waist from behind and placed a kiss on the back of her head.

Caroline and Bonnie just smiled because they loved the fact that they were a thing now. It was beyond cute, and Elena deserves someone as sweet as Stefan.

"I'm sorry okay! I just really want to go to Barcelona! Do you blame me?" Caroline whined.

"No but seriously guys, let me just pay the difference. I mean, I'm going on this trip too…" Stefan said as he tightened his grip on Elena's waist in an attempt to paint a picture of the time they could be spending together.

"I am so down, however, will they let you?" Bonnie asked too excited to stop smiling.

"It shouldn't be a problem" Stefan said.

Elena placed her hand on Stefan's forearm before rubbing it slowly.

"Thank you" she whispered before she turned around to look him in the eyes.

"YAY! Okay, so it is official. Bonnie lets go I need to go shopping RIGHT NOW." Caroline said as she grabbed Bonnie by the hand and ran out the room before smiling at Stefan and saying their thanks.

Stefan rubbed his hands up and down Elena's arms before kissing her forehead and wiggling out of her arms.

"Where do you think you're going?" Elena asked innocently as she held onto his hand refusing to let go like a 5 year old.

Stefan chuckled before he pulled her all of a sudden and she crashed into his chest.

"I am going to go write a check, and then you" Stefan kissed her on the lips softly "me" another kiss, "Katherine" another kiss, "and Damon" another kiss, but this one lasted a bit longer, "are going out. They can't wait to meet you, especially Katherine."

By the time he stopped talking Elena was in a fit of giggles. She still hasn't gotten quite used to the fact that they could kiss each other as much as they want now. And she was not complaining.

"Where are we going? I mean, I haven't met them before. I'm kinda nervous, what if they don't like me?" Elena asked with a bit of concern evident in her voice.

Stefan intertwined their fingers and placed a kiss on it before he spoke up.

"We are going to have some dinner, and then a movie. And don't worry, they will love you so no need to worry. It's kind of hard not to"

"Okay, well in that case, I need to go get ready for tonight. Pick me up at 6?" She asked as she let go of his hand to get her bag sitting on the far desk.

"Yes ma'am" Stefan said as he shot her a beaming smile.

Elena walked back over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck before she got on her tiptoes to place a soft peck on his lips. When she pulled away she could hear Stefan groan.

"What are you huffing and puffing about? We're still at school, someone could see us." Elena said instinctively looking towards the door.

"I know, I know. But, this isn't exactly illegal you know. I mean you are turning 18 in two weeks, and then we'll be in Barcelona and you can have the time of your life." He whispered the last part.

"With you, I'll be having the time of my life with you." Elena corrected with a smile.

"Yeah, I suppose you have me too." He chuckled.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan walked into Damon's apartment without knocking, flung his keys onto the table and collapsed on the couch.

"Damon!" Stefan yelled out from the couch lazily.

No response.

Stefan groaned before he got up and went to his bedroom and opened the door half expecting him to be napping. Once the door was wide open, he saw Katherine lying naked on Damon's chest, who was also naked, taking a nap.

"Oh!" Stefan yelped before he shut the door.

He never wants to see that again. Katherine was his best friend and he could not stand to see her naked like that. Yeah sure Katherine was sexy, and had amazing body, but he did not want to see her in all her glory. Much less his brother!

Stefan made his way to the kitchen took out a phone pad, scribbled down a note that read

_"Meet me at Jack's restaurant at 6:30, bring Katherine with you. Also, I must say Damon; I got the better genes in the family… if you can catch what I am referring to, make sure you think long and hard… no pun intended of course. - Stef"_

Half laughing at his own joke, Stefan left the note on the kitchen counter and left.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was getting ready when Grayson knocked on her door.

"Come in" Elena said towards the door as she finished up applying her make up.

"Well look at you beautiful" Grayson commented as he came in and sat down on Elena's bed.

"Thanks dad" she smiled at him.

"Well, I only came up here to inquire how everything is going with my baby girl" Grayson said playing with one of Elena's pillows

Elena stopped what she was doing and made her way over to her bed so she can sit beside her father.

"May I ask what you are referring to?" Elena questioned, even though she knew what he meant.

"Oh you know, with your new boyfriend and all" Grayson said nonchalantly.

"Mom told you, didn't she?" Elena asked letting out a big sigh and she ran her hand through her hair.

"She may have mentioned another man in your life…nothing too explicit"

"Well, if you must know, everything is going great dad. Stefan is a good guy; he is really sweet and is a complete gentleman. Not to mention extremely hot." Elena added without hesitation.

To that Grayson just laughed and nodded. "I'm glad you guys are spending more time with each other. He is really great guy, respectful too. Not to mention I know exactly what kind of guy he is so if anything were to happen, I can get him where it hurts. Good thing I'm best friends with his father eh?" Grayson laughed.

"I'm glad, but dad" Elena began as she got up to pin her hair up, "we only made things official a week ago, things are still relatively new. But they're going well, and I want to see where this can go"

Grayson nodded before he stood up. "Well, just one concern on my part sweetheart… this is legal right? I do not need a legal suit being thrown at me right now" Grayson joked rolling his eyes.

"It is completely legal… soon anyways. I'll be 18 in two weeks" Elena winked.

"Good" Grayson said, "Oh and have fun tonight sweetie, just be home before curfew."

"Thanks dad" Elena smiled.

Elena loved her dad with all her heart. Sure he was the over protective father, but he was the most laid back person she had ever met. He was so strong and smart and everything he has done, everything he does is for his family. Elena looked up to him from such a young age.

Elena finished up her hair before the she heard the doorbell ring downstairs. Just at the sound of the doorbell there were butterflies in her tummy. She hoped tonight would be a good night.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan and Elena had been waiting for five minutes at their table when Damon and Katherine walked in. Stefan waved them over and Katherine broke out into a smile before she half walked half ran over to the table.

"Stef!" She yelped before she hugged Stefan, "I haven't seen you in forever, what the hell have you been so busy with?" She complained.

Elena was just watching and smiling silently. Katherine was extremely attractive to say the least. She had just the perfect dash of class, and sexiness. If she didn't know that she was Stefan's best friend, and that they had already tried it out as a couple and it failed, she would have been jealous, and a bit worried.

Damon made it to the table looked at Stefan and burst out into laughter. When Elena looked at Stefan he had tears in his eyes. Clearly she was missing something.

"Damon, Katherine, this is Elena. Elena, this is Damon, my brother, and Katherine, my best friend, and I think Damon's girlfriend now." Stefan introduced.

Katherine quickly moved from one side of the table to the other and hugged Elena before she sat down.

"Elena! So you are the one who has Stef all tongue tied, but now I can see the reason why, you are really pretty, and was that Dolce and Gabanna I smelled on you? Good choice!" Katherine said as she finally got a good look at Elena.

"Why thank you, and yes, that is Dolce and Gabanna" Elena said quietly.

"Well, if Katherine is done, I'd like the chance to finally meet you" Damon said from behind Katherine. "Elena, it is very nice to meet you, Stefan doesn't shut up about you" He joked and smirked.

Stefan kicked Damon under the table to shut him up. I think Damon and Katherine collectively have said enough.

Elena just smiled at Damon, he was very handsome. He has crystal blue eyes as vast as the sea. It was quite the difference from Stefan's beautiful green eyes. Damon had this sort of aged look to him, but in reality he was only 5 years older than Stefan. His black hair was shaggy and perfectly styled, almost as if freshly out of the shower. And he emanated sex, much like Katherine.

"It's so nice to meet you too Damon, It's finally nice to meet someone from Stefan's family, since he knows all of mine." She said with a slight giggle.

"Yeah well, I'm the handsome one in the family, Steffie isn't quite up on par with me" Damon joked.

"Oh yeah, not up on par with you alright. Speaking of Damon, how was your nap today?" Stefan winked and burst out in laughter.

"It was amazing, thank you. Even better with this one by my side" Damon said as he grabbed Katherine by the hip and placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth.

Elena could have sworn her heart melted. It was so sweet the way these Salvatore boys handled their women. And with that thought Elena moved her attention to Stefan who was now looking at her. He slowly took her hand that was resting on the table and placed a kiss on it.

"Okay, so what are we eating?" Katherine said as he grabbed the menu.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At the end of the night Stefan and Elena were sitting in his car in front of her house. She still had an hour until curfew so they decided to just spend it together.

Elena was just talking about all the different things she would like to do while in Barcelona and Stefan was just agreeing and smiling when need be. Truth be told, he was still in awe over this girl. She had the ability to make him weak in the knees with a simple smile, or a flip of her hair, or even when she would giggle and her nose would crunch up. She was beautiful, and she was his, he thought.

"And that's when I noticed that Mr. Salvatore over here wasn't listening to me" Elena teased as she touched his thigh to grab his attention.

"I'm sorry" he chuckled. "I was just admiring you. I must admit, you look beautiful tonight babe" he said.

"Thank you. And I must admit myself, you look extremely hot in that white button up, with those rolled up sleeves. I had a hard time concentrating tonight." Elena said she he leaned over to place a kiss on his lips.

As soon as she started to pull away Stefan refused to let her pull away so he just held her there while they kissed slowly, yet sweetly.

Elena brought a hand to rest on his chest, and the other was grabbing his hand that was cupping her face. Both Stefan and Elena couldn't get enough of each other so when Stefan pulled away, they were a little out of breath.

"Well that was pleasant" Elena said still feeling a bit light headed.

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet babe. Wait until I have a bed" Stefan teased as he brought closer again to kiss her. This time with a bit more passion as he let his right hand go down her body, letting it rest on her hip as he slowly massaged it.

"Stef" Elena half moaned in his mouth as he let his other hand do the same as his right.

Stefan pulled away to look at Elena's face. She looked flushed, and her eyes were still closed from the kiss. Stefan's lips lingered above hers before he started to speak.

"I have that much of an effect on you?" he teased

"You have no idea" Elena simply said.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Well that was chapter 10! I hope you guys enjoyed that! It was kind of a long one. I'm sorry for the delay in updates, school takes first priority in my life and I try and write as much as I can on my down time. But I hope you guys are still interested. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 is up! Thank you so much for reviewing and continue to do so! (:

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"Ma! Where are those boxers of mine you washed?" Screamed Stefan to his mother who was standing in the kitchen making breakfast before his dear little son was off to Barcelona.

"I think I put them on your bed Stefan!" She yelled right back.

It was now 7:40am and Stefan was barely awake and packing for his two week stay in Barcelona. He was excited about it because he got to witness the beauty of Spain, and of Elena. He was excited about spending more time with her, even though it would have to be strictly student teacher to student relationship. But that was only for the first week while they attended all mandatory tours, after that they had the next week all to themselves to explore the beautiful city. They had a curfew of 2am seeing how most of them are 18 and they would like to party. Ric had negotiated these rules with the school seeing how he wanted his students to enjoy themselves and not have to worry about time restrictions.

Stefan walked around his mess of a room before he finally found the boxers his mother had washed for him. Right when he was about to place them in the suitcase his phone buzzed. It was a text from Elena, and of course he broke out into a smile upon seeing "babe" flash across the screen with little heart emojis beside her name.

_"Are you up yet sleepyhead?" _

_"Awake as ever, beautiful. Are you ready to go?" _he responded before he set his phone down to put the remaining clothes in his suitcase.

Outside, Nik finally got out of the shower before he reluctantly walked to the kitchen when he smelled the eggs, bacon, and hash browns that Sofia had been cooking.

"Good morning mama Salvatore" Nik teased as he rubbed her arm softly.

"Morning, son. Why don't you sit down, I'll have your plate ready in a few. Mind calling that one from inside?" Sofia said as she was placing the bacon on his plate.

"STEFAAN" Nik shouted before he graciously took the plate Sofia was handing him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming" said Stefan as he walked into the Kitchen and sat down at the island on a bar stool.

"Are you all ready to go?" Sofia asked

"Yup, just need to pick something up at 8:30 before we go to the airport!" Stefan informed her.

"And what are you picking up?" Sofia asked

"Just a little something for the 12th" Stefan responded with a smile.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was loading up the trunk of Caroline's car with their stuff when Bonnie came by with her own suitcases.

"I don't think we have enough things" Bonnie teased.

"Oh please, you can never have enough things" Caroline laughed.

"So, Elena…" Bonnie said a bit warily.

"Mhm Bon?" Elena said looking up from her phone to look at Bonnie.

"Are you going to be sharing a room with us?" She asked with a little smirk.

"I sorta have to, you know" Elena scoffed.

"It'll SAY that you're in our room, but you don't HAVE to be there… if you know what I'm saying" Bonnie said with a hint of humor in her tone.

"Oh come on Bonnie, she isn't a knuckle head. She knows what you're saying" Caroline said as she closed the trunk.

She quickly turned to Elena with excitement before she burst out "So are you gonna be sharing a bed with Stefan?!"

Elena laughed and then blushed before she put her head down and looked at her shoes. Yes, Elena wasn't a virgin, but she wasn't exactly open about her sex life like Caroline was.

"I don't know, we'll see what happens! I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with that one." Elena winked before she walked away to get into the driver's side of the car.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They had been in the air for about two hours when Stefan got up from his seat with his headphones blasting music, blocking out the outside world. He got to the washroom and began humming when he opened the door to find that it was in use. So he stood there waiting, eventually he took his headphones out and heard a loud thump on the door followed by a moan.

He didn't have to think twice about what was going on in there, so he walked around to the other side to use the other vacant one. As he was walking to the bathroom and hand stuck out from the seats and grabbed his hand pulling him down onto a seat.

Stefan quickly regained his composure when we saw a bubbly Elena smiling at his with her pearly white teeth.

"Hi babe" she got out before she took the blanket by her feet and snuggled herself in it inviting him in.

Stefan just laughed as he leaned forward to lace their hands as he brought his other hand to her face to brush a strand out of her face.

"Hey beautiful" he got out before Elena pulled him down on top of her so they were lying down on the seats.

"Babe, what if someone sees-" Stefan was saying before he was cut off by Elena's lips. Stefan let his eyes slip close as he let himself enjoy the kiss. He could taste Elena's signature passion fruit lip balm on her lips that he had grown accustomed to, and he could smell her vanilla shampoo and her light perfume that she always wore. She was the epitome of perfection to him.

Elena ended the kiss after a quick make out session and pulled back when she opened her eyes to see him staring right back into her brown doe eyes.

"Wait, is that my gum you're chewing?" Stefan laughed

"Maybe…you should keep your tongue in your mouth if you want to keep your gum" Elena teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, someone could see us Elena" he said attempting to sit up and get off of Elena.

"No, no one will see us. Trust me, Ric already knows because my mom can't keep her mouth shut to Aunt Jenna who in turn can't keep her mouth shut to her fiancé. Plus everyone else is at the front of the plane; section A. We are at the back, section G" Elena explained pulling Stefan back down to her.

"Ric knows?" Stefan asked a bit worried.

"Yeah he knows, and you have nothing to worry about" she said as he ran her fingers over his brown trying to smooth out those worry lines. "Also, something else I wanted to talk to you about. Caroline and Bonnie asked me if I was going to share a room with them or with you" Elena said blushing.

"My my Gilbert, are you blushing? And as for the rooms…You can share with whomever you please." Stefan said smiling as he leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek.

Elena pondered for a second, she would not mind falling asleep with Stefan b her side for two weeks, and to wake up with him too.

"I wouldn't mind waking up to you every morning for the next two weeks" Elena said as she got up to switch positions so Stefan was laying down on the seat while she lay on his chest

"You can sneak into my room after Ric goes around and checks the rooms at midnight" Stefan suggested as he made room for Elena and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to his body.

"Sounds like a good idea" Elena said getting herself comfy on his chest as she was rubbing circles on his chest.

Stefan just smiled and kissed her head before a thought popped up into his head. He had no idea whether or not Elena was a virgin. That would make a big difference in their relationship in terms of physicality. She was really comfortable with getting a little heated, maybe that's an indicator that she isn't? Oh well, that was something they would get to when they decided to take that step. He would never pressure Elena into anything she did not want to do.

"Lena?"

"Mhm?" Elena responded.

"I'm glad we're spending these two weeks together" Stefan said with earnest compassion.

Elena turned her head and placed a kiss on his chest in agreement.

"Me too babe"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie walked into their room they put their luggage aside and all collapsed on the bed.

"Please tell me a nap is in order" Bonnie mumbled as she lay with her head on Elena's shoulder who was lying on Caroline's ass.

"Yes, because I am not moving" Caroline said sleepily

"Mhm" Elena agreed as she let her eyes slip close.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Ric and Stefan were walking to the front desk to let them know the total number of students, and all that adult-y information that is necessary for the hotel to know, when Ric suddenly slowed down and turned around to Stefan.

"I'll be sharing a room with you. Just to let you know" Ric said as he smirked and walked away.

Stefan felt like his life had been shat on. He would never be able to have Elena sneak in with Ric in the room. And he would not even dare try. There had to be something he could do to get Ric out of that room with him for the next two weeks. There is no way that Ric was sharing a room with him.

Stefan quickly collected all this thoughts and jogged up to touch Ric's shoulder.

"Alaric, listen, I'm not a 17 year old, I can have my own room" Stefan said with hope in his eyes.

Alaric stopped and genuinely pondered for a bit before he spoke, "Na" he said before he walked to the front lobbyist.

"Ric, buddy, come on. Am I really that unreliable? I mean I am 20 years old and I can even pay for my own room if you want." Stefan suggested trying to get a room for himself.

"Stefan" Ric said as he took out his wallet and turned around to face him. "Fine, whatever. Do whatever you want. Just, keep it PG please or I will seriously break something of yours."

Stefan broke out into a smile, he finally got his room. He was happy, but he had to pay for his own room, and that was a good $250 a night for this hotel. It's okay, he could use the debit card his parents gave him when he was 18. He hadn't touched a single penny on it, and it sat in his wallet containing a good $9,500.

"Yeah ok whatever you say Ric" Stefan said as he pushed him out of the way to get his own room in the hotel, demanding it be on floor 14 where Elena was.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back in Mystic Falls Damon was lounging on the couch when he heard a knock on his door. He had no clue who it would be since he was meeting Katherine at 6pm for a date.

He walked over to the door and opened it revealing a smiling Katherine behind it.

"Hi babe!" she squealed as she wrapped her arms around her torso which is fully covered by her leather jacket. She leaned forward to leave a peck on his lips before she walked in to Damon's apartment.

"Hey" he said following her right into the living room where she sat down across from him. She still hadn't let go of her torso and there was definitely something she was gripping on to, there was a slight bulge in her leather jacket.

"What do you have there?" Damon asked raising his eyebrows.

"Well, you know how much I love your puppy face, and how I think it is completely adorable. And you know how much I LOVE puppies in general, so…" she trailed off before she unzipped her leather jacket and out jumped the tiniest little puppy Damon had ever seen.

Damon nearly jumped when he saw this puppy jumping out of Katherine's arms all of a sudden.

"Kat, please don't tell me you got me a dog" Damon said bending down to pick up the puppy as he took his finger and pet him behind his small little ear.

"I didn't get YOU a dog silly, I got US a dog" Katherine simply responded with a smile.

Damon put down the puppy and walked over to Katherine and wrapped his arm around her when he sat down pulling her closer to him.

Damon sighed, leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips that soon turned into hunger and passion. Katherine half sighed into Damon's mouth before she grabbed Damon's hand and intertwined their fingers to let him know that she still wants this to be affectionate and sweet.

Slowly, Damon pulled away to look into Katherine's eyes before he leaned forward again and placed a kiss on her forehead, on her temple and then lastly on her cheek before he leaned up to whisper in her ear.

"I love our new dog" Damon sighed but before he pulled away he placed a small kiss on her neck before whispering in her ear again.

"And I love you" He said as he pulled back to see Katherine's face in awe and tears welling up.

Katherine's tears threatened to spill when she cupped Damon's cheek and gave him a last kiss before whispering, "I love you too, Damon" When all of a sudden their new little puppy jumped in their lap.

"What are we naming him?" Katherine asked.

"Whatever you want" Damon said petting the dog again.

"I like bubbles"

"Bubbles?" Damon asked.

"Bubbles" Katherine confirmed looking at him.

"Okay, Bubbles it is" Damon said taking her hand and leaving a kiss on it.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan was lying on the pool chairs trying to soak up the sun at the outdoor pool of the hotel when he glanced over and saw Elena walk in with Caroline and Bonnie by her side.

Stefan had never seen Elena in anything less than her short shorts and a tank top and he had to admit, she had a sexy body. It took everything out of Stefan not to get up right there and walk over to Elena and just kiss her.

Stefan's eyes followed her until she reached the edge of the pool before she dipped her feet in and raised her head to finally notice Stefan sitting across the width of the pool.

Elena jumped in swam over to the other edge towards Stefan to come to the surface to beckon him with her one index finger.

"Come in" she simply said.

Stefan dropped everything he had in his hands and took off his shirt and sunglasses before he dipped himself in the pool finally dunking his head. He swam over to Elena under the water and grabbed her legs throwing her under the surface.

Stefan quickly adjusted himself so she was aligned to his face under the water. Elena finally opened her eyes under water to see Stefan staring back at her with his green eyes and waving hair from underneath the water.

Stefan swam forward a bit and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in to place a deep kiss on her lips underneath the water.

Before they could run out of breath they both resurfaced gasping for air.

Stefan swam a circle around her before getting up behind her and pulling her back against his wet chest, while still standing in the pool, to whisper in her ear.

"Do you have any idea how hot you look in this bathing suit?" He said as he placed a wet kiss upon her already wet skin.

"Stefan, Ric could see us" Elena chided him attempting to pull away.

Stefan just pulled her back against him before placing a kiss on her shoulder.

"Not when Ric's room is on the 13th floor and facing the other side of the hotel. Oh and did I forget to tell you he is taking a nap? No Ric for a couple of hours babe" he teased.

Elena turned around to swing her arms around his neck.

"So… what are we gonna do for a couple of hours then?" She asked with a beaming smile.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Hope you liked chapter 11! Leave a review, thank you so much (:


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the late update, but I am trying my best! Now I seriously understand the pressures of writing these fanfics. But alas, here is chapter 12! Enjoy (:

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It was 11pm and Stefan was lying in bed tossing and turning as he heard the faint music coming from the club just in the basement of their hotel. He turned around to put some music in his ears in hopes of falling asleep. When he turned up the volume to his music he missed the card sliding in the door granting access to Elena who was sneaking around their hotel floor trying to get to his room, late at night.

Elena tiptoed across the room whispering his name trying to gage whether or not he was still asleep. As she got closer to the bed she whispered a little bit louder but still got no response from him. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Elena quickly jumped on the bed which made Stefan yelp like a little girl and jump up out of bed.

At this point Elena had tears in her eyes and she was holding her stomach as she laughed as hard and loud as she could.

"Elena" Stefan sighed in relief once he heard her giggles.

"I'm sorry, but please don't tell me that is your bedroom scream" Elena laughed as she collected herself and sat cross legged in the middle of the bed with Stefan standing at the foot of the bed.

"I'll show you a bedroom scream" Stefan muttered too low for Elena to hear as he walked back to the bed collapsing on it.

Elena giggled one last time as she got up on all fours and crawled over to where Stefan was lying and fell on his chest as she pressed a kiss to his nose.

"So you found your way to my room did you?" Stefan asked as his hands came to rest on her back and she laid her head down on chest with her legs straddling his.

"Indeed I did" Elena said muffled by her lips pressing against his chest which was bare.

Stefan just laid there for about 10 minutes slowly stroking Elena's back in utter silence which was comforting. Elena was lying in utter content loving the feel of Stefan's hand on her back rubbing small circles. Elena began thinking of their relationship and all that has happened so far.

They have been dating for three weeks now yet they both felt things stronger than a three week old relationship. They were comfortable with each other and loved one another's company. They could get lost in each other and they loved the feel of each other. They set each other's hair on end when they get close, their kisses leaving them breathless and wanting more. How much more though? Elena thought. Enough to take the next step? Yes she was not a virgin, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to fully give herself up to Stefan yet. But he was a guy, he had needs.

But little did she know that Stefan was not adamant about taking the next step what so ever. Stefan wanted to take this slow, and do it right. He knows what he feels for Elena is real, and he knows the way she makes him feel isn't just a teenage crush so he wants to do this right, and he wants to make it comfortable for Elena.

"What are you thinking about" Stefan broke the silence first.

"Us" she responded truthfully.

This made Stefan smile like a child on Christmas morning. He loved the sound of that. Them, us, Stefan and Elena, he liked being seen as hers, and he loved her being seen as his.

Elena rubbed her hand up and down his chest slowly, loving the feel of his strong chest under the gentle fingertips.

"What about us?" he countered.

She took a deep breath before she began.

"Do you want the honest truth?" she asked.

"Always" he said with sincerity.

"I was thinking about" she hesitated for a second or two "our physical relationship" she said the last part a bit quicker than she normally would have.

She felt Stefan chuckle underneath her before he began speaking again.

"What about our _physical_ relationship?" he asked, vocally air quoting the word physical

Elena suddenly felt her cheeks blush and she hid her face in the crook between his soft neck and broad shoulder which she was sure was her favorite place to rest now.

"About getting intimate?" she phrased this more as a question, than a fact,

Stefan laughed harder at her shyness and rolled Elena off of him and on top of her, effectively trapping her between his body and the bed.

He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then on her cheek, then on her nose, then on her chin, then finally a soft peck on her lips.

"What about getting intimate?" he asked as his hand was trailing down her side to be placed on her ass lightly.

Elena let her arms rest on his side slowly tracing the muscles that were now being flexed due to the fact that he was holding himself above her.

"I was just thinking about when we would get intimate, IF, we get intimate." Elena said quietly looking up into his green eyes that she loved so much.

Stefan removed his hand from her ass and placed it on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Only when you want to, Elena. There is no pressure, whenever you're ready." Stefan said.

"Stefan, I-I'm not a virgin" Elena said, feeling the need to get that out of the way.

"Ou, Gilbert! Shy, yet sexy in the sheets?" he teased letting himself fall beside her.

"Stefan!" she chided playfully smacking his chest before she rested her head on it and curled up in to Stefan's side.

"I'm just kidding. Listen, our pasts are just that, our pasts. I don't care if you are or if you aren't. We're together now and we will make our own memories and have our own past. I don't want to rush into things when this feels so right. I want us to take our time, and I want us to be real and true with one another. I want this to last, and I want you to stay, Lena" Stefan said softly finally confessing all that he feels for her, and about them.

"Stefan, I don't know what to sa-" Elena began, but Stefan interrupted her.

"You don't have to say anything, let's just do this right. And when it feels right, we'll take the next step. However, just to clear the air, you DO want to take the next step right?" Stefan asked teasingly yet affirmatively.

"Yes I want to take the next step" Elena said before she reached up to give him a kiss which lasted a little longer than she planned, but she was not complaining.

"Go to sleep" Stefan said as he pulled away and grabbed the blanket to throw on them. Elena dragged herself back to Stefan's side, rested her head on his chest, draped her arm around his waist and pulled up her leg to cross over his left and she nestled in to make herself comfy.

"Comfy there?" Stefan teased.

"Very" she replied smugly.

"Good night babe" Stefan said as he left a kiss on her head.

"Night Stef" Elena responded.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Three days had passed and they loved their trip in Barcelona so far. They had fun almost every single day and they loved getting to see all the historical places Spain had to offer.

Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena were getting ready for their first night out to the club that was a part of the hotel they were staying in. They had their curfew of 2am and they planned on enjoying the freedom. They were all excited to go and check out the club since clubs back in the States had an age limit. But since they were in Europe, Europe was a bit more lenient. Elena was almost ready and she was excited because she was finally turning 18 tomorrow.

Caroline was leaning over the counter applying her mascara, Bonnie was putting on her heels, and Elena was waiting for them to be done.

"So, are you excited about tonight?" Caroline asked them

"I am beyond excited; maybe we can see some hot Spanish boys!" Bonnie said as she added a wink.

"Oh yeah, I mean, we're single, except for Elena, but we can have some fun" Caroline said.

Elena just laughed "Just because I'm not single, doesn't mean I can't have some fun!" She countered standing up to check herself out the in the mirror.

Bonnie finished getting ready and planted herself on the bed. "Is Stefan coming tonight? Oh, sorry I mean _Mr. Salvatore." _Bonnie teased.

Elena laughed, "Yes, he is coming"

"So how are things going between you and Steffy poo?" Caroline called from the bathroom.

Elena moved to sit down and she took a deep breath.

"Things are going great! I really, really like him and he is just the sweetest guy I have ever met. He really knows how to make me feel special. And he listens, and he is attentive and he is an amazing kisser." Elena finished with a dramatic sigh.

"I'm glad things are going good, you guys have been official for what? 3 weeks now?" Bonnie asked.

"Three weeks, yup. But, I know this may sound crazy, but I feel something stronger than a three week old relationship. It's just, the connection we have is something I haven't felt before, and the way he makes me feel is something I never want to forget. This feels real, and I want this to last." Elena finished quietly.

"Stefan is your epic love" Caroline said as she walked in to the bedroom.

Elena froze a bit as she heard the word love. Love? Did she love Stefan? She didn't know. It was way too early to tell, wasn't it? Elena decided to push the thoughts to the back of her head. She didn't want to complicate things as of yet. Love was a big step and she wanted to do this right, and with earnest feelings.

A knock on the door broke her out of her little reverie; she went to go open the door expecting it to be Ric coming over to go over the rules.

Elena opened the door and began speaking before she even saw who it was. "Hey, Ric can we extend our curfew if need be?" Elena finished as she looked up and saw Stefan starting at her like she was the only person in the world right now.

Elena blushed and laughed apologizing to Stefan "I'm sorry, I thought you were Ric"

Stefan was quiet as his eyes raked over Elena and he was mentally saying a prayer that all of _that _was his.

Elena was wearing a black strapless dress that came up to just above her knees and it hugged all the right places, and accentuated her curves. Her long legs looked sexy in her matte black heels, and her hair was curled slightly hanging in loose waves by the sides of her face and her makeup was just perfect.

"Stefan?" Elena asked trying to get his attention

"Elena, you look…" Stefan was struggling to find the right word. Yes she looked beautiful, but her aura was going for something a bit more seductive so he carefully chose his wording.

"You look so hot" Stefan finally said as he walked in to the room and placed his hands on her hips and placed a kiss on her awaiting lips.

Elena broke away needing air, "thanks" she smiled up at him.

"Ready to go?" he asked still not willing to let go of her.

"More than" she said allowing her hands to wrap around his waist.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Before they even got downstairs they could feel the bass of the music. There was a group of about 9 of them, Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Mark, Dana, and Brianna.

As soon as they walked in they all walked to the bar and ordered their drinks, a round of shots to start off the night before they all dispersed throughout the club.

Stefan grabbed Elena and pulled her close as they sat on one of the stools by the bar, "I'm gonna go the bathroom, I'll be right back babe" he whispered into her ear before placing a kiss on her neck.

She nodded letting him know that she understood him over the loud blaring music.

Caroline and Bonnie grabbed Elena by the hand and dragged her to the dance floor to dance as soon as they heard Rihanna's _We Found Love_. Elena began to feel the beat and started dancing among the crowd. The dance floor was a bit crowded and she could feel bodies all around her. As she began to dance with Caroline and Bonnie she felt a hand being placed on her hip and a mouth by her ear began to speak ,

"Hey beautiful, can I buy you a drink?" the husky voice asked her with a hint of a Spanish accent.

Elena flinched away from his hand and turned around to kindly respond no, when the man's other hand flew to her hip.

Elena brushed his hand off and was about to say no when she felt another pair of hands grab her by the waist and pull her against his chest.

"No, she's with me, so back off" Stefan responded for her over the music, telling the man to go away.

Elena remained with her back facing Stefan and she relaxed into his chest among the crowd of people. She felt down for his hand and found it and laced their fingers together bringing it up to her lips to place a kiss on it.

Stefan leaned down to whisper in her ear, "you okay?"

Elena craned her neck around to place a kiss on his lips to thank him. Stefan's hands flew to her hips as they began to move to the song blaring all around them. Elena broke away from the kiss to turn around and placed her arms around his neck.

"Thank you" she whispered as she placed a kiss on his neck.

Stefan leaned down placed a hot kiss on her neck as they moved to the music feeling the beat around them. They began dancing and it was getting heated, they had danced to about 3 songs before Elena pulled away and dragged him by the hand to the bar for another drink.

She looked around and she saw Bonnie and Caroline sitting down at one of the booths in the far corner laughing with Tyler and Matt as they sipped on their drinks.

Elena turned around to grab her drink from Stefan when he leaned down and whispered for her to follow him outside.

They walked hand in hand with Stefan leading the way outside. When they got outside Stefan stopped and looked at the time on his phone before he looked up at Elena.

"Stefan, what are we doing out here?" Elena asked

"Just wait a minute" Stefan said still looking at this phone

"Stefa-" Elena began but was cut off.

"Happy birthday beautiful" he said as she pulled out a long velvet box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a diamond bracelet from Swarovski.

"Stefan" Elena said almost close to tears, "you didn't have to get me anything. Paying for the rest of the trip was enough for me" She said as she walked to Stefan and grabbed him by the arms and jumped up to kiss him deeply. Elena let herself kiss him for a bit but when Stefan's hands went over her ass she remembered they were in public.

"I know, but I just wanted to get this for you. You deserve it and I wanted this to be a good birthday for you. So, happy birthday babe" he said as he grabbed her hand and placed the bracelet on her wrist and clasped it close.

"Thank you Stefan" she said as she gave him a hug

"Anything for you" Stefan responded when his hands found the small of his back and pushed her body closer to his.

Stefan was the one to pull away first, "come on, we should go enjoy the rest of our night."

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

So that was chapter 12! I hope you guys are still interested in the story! The next update will have a bit of a time skip and it will be their last day in Barcelona! Also, there might be a little something awaiting one of the characters once they reach Mystic Falls! Keep reviewing and let me know what you think! Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

I hope you enjoyed chapter 12! 100 reviews! Woo! That's exciting (: So thank you for that. Here is the 13th chapter! I am sorry it has taken so long to get an update up but I do have finals that start on the 17th and end on the 25th, so after that updates will be more regular and consistent because I will be on summer vacation! I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting but I just want to end these finals and then I can write that much more for you guys!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was sitting at the little bar by the pool with Caroline and Matt while Bonnie was upstairs sick in bed. Turns out she got food poisoning from the oysters they ate the night before, so she was just resting it off. Stefan was with Ric helping him finalize some of the details before their departure tomorrow morning.

Elena was quietly sipping on her drink while Matt and Caroline easily facilitated the conversation. Caroline was talking about some Spanish guy she met the night they went out to the club and Matt was trying to gage a way to try and approach the girl sitting by the pool. Caroline suggested that he take her a drink to which Elena whole heartedly agreed and even bought the drink for him. Matt took the drink and walked off in hopes of scoring a date tonight before they leave tomorrow.

When he left, Caroline moved over one seat and let out an exasperated sigh.

"What is with the dramatic sigh?" Elena asked while she finished off her drink

"We're leaving tomorrow and I have to say bye to Paolo" She said sadly

"Well, did you sleep with him?" Elena asked trying to gage how serious they had actually gotten.

"Well no, but why can't that happen tonight?" Caroline asked genuinely confused

"It can, but what about that British man back home? Nik" Elena asked

"He is one cutie and his accent dear lord" Caroline swooned

Elena was about to speak but the bartender coughed, making both of them direct their attention to him.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice that you're running low on that drink, mind if I got you another?" The handsome man asked politely.

It was customary for the bartenders to not wear shirts, so Elena was kind of used to that however this was a different bartender and no matter how taken she was, she couldn't help but appreciate this man's body.

"Yeah sure!" Elena said turning back to Caroline not thinking much of it.

"Okay, I am going to go check on Bonnie and start getting ready for my last date with Paolo. You gonna be okay here?" Caroline asked while getting up.

"Yeah! Go ahead, Matt is still around and Tyler and Dana are in the pool. I'll be good, make sure Bonnie is okay though and give her some of the medicine that's in my suitcase" Elena said while Caroline just nodded and said her goodbyes.

Elena turned back around to the bartender but he was walking around the bar to come and hand her the drink. Elena smiled at the gesture and grabbed the drink from him as he took a seat beside her.

"So, where are you from?" The bartender asked her

"From America" Elena answered with a smile.

"Do you like working here, at the bar?" Elena asked with honest curiosity. I mean he gets multiple orders within a minute. It must be hard work trying to keep up with everything and get it all right.

"Yeah, I do. I mean I don't have to, it is my choice, seeing as how my father owns the place" He threw in casually.

Elena looked at him in awe. He was pretty much the future owner of this lavish hotel they were staying in.

"Wow, that is impressive" Elena said with marvel

"Yeah it is, if money is all you want in life" he said with a smile that Elena could tell he forced. Elena's guess was that his father was busy with all his hotel businesses that he might not be able to get the chance to spend time with his son.

"I suppose, but money isn't everything. And I'm glad you see that" Elena complimented

"I do, thanks. Oh, and I never caught your name?" He asked

"I'm Elena" she said while chuckling. They had gone through almost a whole conversation without introducing themselves.

"Elena, that's a pretty name, much like yourself. I'm Noah" he said with a smile that showed off his perfect white teeth.

Elena blushed at his compliment while thanking him.

Elena and Noah fell in to a light conversation, talking about their lives and what they wish to do. But Elena couldn't help but miss Stefan. She hadn't seen him all day and even last night she didn't get a chance to spend it with him. But Noah was an easy distraction and she didn't really care to be doing anything else at this point seeing how Stefan was busy.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan finally got free with Ric at 5pm and he made his way to his room to change out of his clothes and into his swimming trunks.

As he got to the pool he looked around to see if he could see Elena anywhere but he didn't. He did however see some guy holding her bright purple towel at the edge of the pool. Stefan was really confused so he approached the pool and he stopped when he saw Elena get out of the pool where she was with Tyler and Dana, but when she got out the man wrapped the towel around her shoulders from behind and kept his arms around Elena for a rather longer period of time than necessary.

This sparked a little something in Stefan. Anger? Fear? Jealousy? Anger because this man was getting cozy with his girlfriend. Fear because in that moment, he felt kind of self-conscious. What if she was enjoying this? And jealousy because he wanted that to be his arms around her.

He hadn't seen her in a while and he so desperately missed her and all he wanted was to kiss her, hold her, and fall asleep with her body lying next to his.

Stefan walked on over to them and he could visibly see that Elena was attempting to be nice because she was using that weird pitched voice and she was playing with her hands.

Elena looked up almost as if she could sense him coming and she let out the biggest breath of relief and gave his a big smile. One that Stefan didn't exactly return with equal fervor.

When he approached Elena he turned to the guy and gave him a smile before he began speaking.

"Hey, I'm Stefan, Elena's boyfriend. And you are?" Stefan asked with a sweet tone that could be very much deceiving.

"Oh, Elena's boyfriend…I'm Noah. And sorry man, I was just keeping her company, nothing more I assure you" Noah said with a smile as he began walking backwards.

"I guess this is goodbye Elena. It was nice meeting you, hope you have a safe flight back" He said with sincerity.

"Thanks, it was nice meeting you too, Noah." Elena smiled as he walked away.

Stefan still had his back to Elena when she reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Stefan" Elena said

Stefan turned around with an expression that wasn't exactly happiness on his face.

"What's wrong babe?" Elena asked moving to wrap her arm around his while hugging it to her chest, moving closer. She felt the need to be close to him, she didn't exactly realize how much she missed him.

Stefan rubbed her arm before breaking out of her hold, "let's talk upstairs?" he offered

"Yeah, let's go" Elena said

**XXXXXXXXXX**

When they got to Stefan's room, Elena walked in first putting her stuff down by the foot of the bed and turning around to face Stefan as he found a shirt on the back of a chair and pulled it over his head.

"So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Elena asked raising her eyebrow at him

"Nothing is wrong really…I just caught a severe case of jealousy. That's all" Stefan said as he leaned against the wall he was standing beside.

"Jealous of Noah? You have nothing to be jealous about Stefan. You know I'm with you now, and you know how much you mean to me. Noah was harmless" Elena said walking closer to Stefan and stopping right in front of him.

"Looks like you were getting pretty cozy with him though. I mean, he did wrap his arms around you" Stefan said trailing off.

Elena couldn't help but smile at this side of Stefan. She hasn't seen this side of Stefan and truth be told, even if they were having a little tiff right now, she was loving it. It showed how much he cared about her and right now all she wanted to do was jump in his arms and kiss him senselessly.

"Yeah, he did. But they weren't as strong as yours" Elena said quietly reaching up and running her hands up and down his arms, squeezing his biceps appreciating all that he had to offer.

"I don't like how close he was getting to you" Stefan said moving from his position at the wall as he began to walk forcing Elena to walk backwards towards the bed before the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed and she fell over on the bed with Stefan right on top of her.

Elena was still wearing her bikini and all she had was a thin cardigan over her bikini and wherever his skin touched hers, it made her jump. She could feel every line of his body up against hers and she hummed in appreciation.

"But I love how close you're getting to me" Elena countered flirtatiously as her hand found their way to his back.

Stefan leaned forward and he could feel every curve and bump against his own body. He felt her breasts pressed up against his chest and he felt her stomach on his stomach and he felt his legs resting in between hers.

"I didn't like how he wasn't wearing a shirt" Stefan said loving the way her hands gripped his back. Stefan pressed palm against her bare side running it up her ribcage and back down all the way down to her knee that was bent and resting against his side.

Elena fought back the sigh of pleasure that was forcing its way up to her mouth, "I don't like how you ARE wearing a shirt" Elena countered running her hand up his back lifting his shirt up in the process.

Stefan reached behind him and took the shirt off and flung it across the room before he came back to rest in the same position.

"I don't like how he got to see you in a bikini, and not me" Stefan whispered hotly as his lips trailed from her collarbone, up the length of her neck, along her jawline to her ear where he stopped to whisper, "not fair"

Elena brought her hands back around to the front of his body up and down his chest and abs loving the feel before she reached down to try and take the cardigan off with the help of Stefan.

"Better?" Elena asked as she looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes.

Stefan had to stop for a moment because in this moment she looked beautiful. Her hair was splayed out in soft waves around her and her smoldering look was driving him crazy. Stefan raked his eyes up and down her body while licking his lips. He came back down to his previous position and he dragged the tips of his fingers from the top of her breasts to her naval.

Elena clenched her jaw and moved her body in the direction of his fingers as he brought his face back up and placed his lips in the bottom of her ear "much better" Stefan said with a certain hint of seduction in his voice.

At this point Elena was waiting for his lips to make contact with hers, she wasn't sure how much more she could take. But she sure as hell was enjoying this.

Stefan kissed her neck hotly, sucking in some areas and leaving open mouthed kisses in the other. He dragged his nose up the side of her face letting his lips rest right beside her ear, "I want people to know you're mine" Stefan whispered

Elena whimpered a bit before she brought her hands up to his head and ran her fingers through his hair teasing him with her fingernails, "I'm yours" Elena said before she angled his face up and their lips finally made contact after what felt like hours of their teasing.

Their lips moved in synchronization as they finally felt each other and tasted one another on their tongues. Stefan pulled away first, only to grab Elena's hand and pin them above her head with their fingers intertwined.

Stefan kissed his way down her neck and to her shoulder where he takes off the first strap of her bikini. As soon as this happened, Elena and Stefan realized that this is it. This is the moment they give themselves over entirely to each other and they can finally love each other.

Love? Did they love each other? They wouldn't know because they had never felt it, but they say that when you fall in love, you just know. It isn't something you can anticipate.

Stefan was about the take off the strap in its entirety when there was a knock on the door. Both Stefan and Elena let out a loud groan because they were getting very heated and they so desperately wanted one another in this very moment. Stefan dropped his head into the space between her shoulder and neck as he pretend to cry.

Elena just laughed as she ran his hand through his hair, before laying a kiss on his head

"Go get the door babe" she chuckled

"No" he said still leaving hot, wet kisses on her neck. He slowly moved his way over and began sucking on her collarbone to which she arched her back and half moaned and whispered "stef"

The second knock on the door was louder and Stefan was ready to rip the person apart limb from limb, whoever it was.

"Babe, go get the door!" Elena said pushing him off her

Stefan groaned and got up to open the door to reveal an impatient Ric.

Stefan froze and spoke loudly just so Elena could hear so she could hide just in case he decided to come in.

"Ric! Hey! What's up?"

Elena heard this and froze. Ric? Fuck, she was screwed. She just hoped Stefan could attend to his needs at the door and try and prevent him from coming inside.

"Nothing, I just wanted to give you a final list of everyone and their corresponding room number… Um, is there any particular reason you're yelling?" Ric asked giving Stefan a questioning look.

"Oh, sorry, no I was just listening to music and I had my music blasting so that's why" Stefan said making up a lie on the spot.

"Okay, yeah whatever. Here is the list, and our flight leaves at 6am in the morning so, be ready!" Ric said giving him the piece of paper as walked away down the hall towards the elevators.

Stefan made his way back inside to find Elena in the bathroom washing her face and towel drying it.

"I should get going, I still haven't started packing yet." Elena complained

"Why? We were having fun" Stefan winked as he walked closer and pinned Elena between the bathroom wall and his body.

Elena placed a kiss on his chest before humming, "yes we were having fun, but Elena needs to pack her suitcase up" she said speaking in third person.

Stefan sighed dramatically, agreeing and stepping away from her to allow her to move.

"I will see you tonight at 12am" Elena said as she grabbed her flip flops in her hand and walked to the door. She turned around to give Stefan one last kiss that lasted longer than she had meant it to. But as she turned around to open the door Stefan playfully smacked her ass.

"See you tonight babe" He winked at her as she shook her head and walked away.

Gosh, they loved each other.

_Love?_

**XXXXXXXXX**

So that was chapter 13! Leave me a review letting me know what you think! And yes the word love is being thrown around; let's see what happens with that! Next update will be whenever I finish finals, so I hope you guys bear with me as I try and finish up school! Thanks (:


	14. Chapter 14

I hope you liked chapter 13! Thanks for bearing with me as I finished up school! I really appreciate it! And now I am done so updates will hopefully be more frequent. Here is the 14th chapter!

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

They had just gotten back from Barcelona and it was now a Saturday. Elena was grateful for the weekend so she could catch up on her sleep and maybe sleep off a bit of the jetlag. It was late afternoon when her mother came into her room threatening to spill water on her if she didn't wake up right this instant.

Elena grumbled and groaned as she tossed around in bed as she heard her mother coaxing her to get up. Elena mumbled and nodded and Miranda then left the room. Elena turned around on her stomach and hugged her teddy bear hoping more sleep would come when she heard the room go quiet. Elena was drifting off to sleep when she heard footsteps coming into her room. She was vaguely aware of the voices she was hearing before a big cold splash of water was dumped on her head. Elena quickly jumped out of bed soaking wet to see her brother grinning at her holding an empty pot.

Elena just about lost it, "JERE-FUCKING-MY I AM GOING TO KILL YOU" she screamed as bolted towards him and pushed him before he just laughed and made a run downstairs.

"Sorry Lena, I just missed you!" Jeremy called out from downstairs ready to run if she decided to come after him.

"You are so dead Jer" she yelled at him before she went back into her room to take off her bed sheets that were now soaked all the way through.

She took off her tank top that now stuck to her body and she took off her shorts and tossed them into the hamper as she made her way to the bathroom to shower.

As she was about to get in the shower she heard a knock on the door of her bathroom from Jeremy's side

"Why are you taking a shower Elena? I mean, what is the need for that now?" Jeremy snickered as he teased Elena.

Elena clenched her jaw and rolled her eyes before she bit back, "Watch your back Jeremy, wouldn't want anything happening to you now" She would get him back that was for sure.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

"No"

"Yes, D"

"No"

"Damon, listen to your Father and stop arguing like a prepubescent boy" Sofia chided walking into the den where Damon and Giuseppe sat, arguing.

"Ma, I don't want to go over to the Gilbert's for lunch. Take Steffie poo, I'm sure he'll love to spend time with the in-laws and his wifey, Elena bear" Damon mocked and teased

Right as Damon had finished his sentence, a tennis ball came flying and hit him in the back of the head and bounced off for him to catch.

"Stefan Antonio Salvatore!" Sofia scolded while Giuseppe laughed

"Yeah, Ow Antonio-lover boy" Damon said rubbing the back of his head.

"You deserved it, jerk." Stefan said as he walked in to hit Damon again with a pillow.

"I was simply telling mother and father how you've taken a liking to little Lena Gilbert" Damon winked

Stefan laughed and rolled his neck, "Oh and have you told mom and dad how you've taken a liking to the one and only Pierce? Even exchanged 'I love you' with her." Stefan said with a smug little grin.

Damon froze, he didn't think anyone knew about that. That was between him and Katherine. Though he should have known, Katherine and Stefan are best friends.

Sofia broke Damon out of his thoughts with a little squeal, "Both of my boys are in love! You boys are growing up so fast!"

Giuseppe laughed and nodded, "Surely you two will introduce us to whom you are seeing now" he asked as he took his glasses off and placed them on his desk.

Damon didn't mind the idea of introducing Katherine to his parents. They were already accustomed to her and he knew how much they adored her. She was a respectable woman, albeit her sass could use some working. He also wanted to make Katherine a bigger part of his life, and this seemed like a good step to take to try and make that happen. I mean after all, he loves her.

Stefan also didn't mind, they already knew all they had to about Elena. He was comfortable with introducing her as his girlfriend now. But it was up to her, now.

"Maybe we could have dinner next weekend" Damon suggested with ease

"That is a wonderful idea" Sofia said

"Yes, I would love to meet the girls that have my boys so smitten" Giuseppe piped in

"Alright, next weekend it is" Stefan said sealing the deal.

**XXXXXXXX**

It was now 1pm when Elena made her way downstairs from her nice hour long shower. She was able to work out the kinks in her back and she was glad to have relaxed a bit.

As she was walking towards the kitchen for some lunch she heard laughter and chatter. She wasn't aware that anyone was coming over, so she was wearing a tank top and jean cut-off shorts. Maybe not the most appropriate for company, but she was beyond exhausted and she was not going to go back upstairs just to change.

When she rounded the corner she saw her mom and Sofia sitting down at the island having a cup of coffee. She looked around and didn't see her dad, Giuseppe, nor Stefan anywhere. She was a tad disappointed. I mean, she missed Stefan a lot after spending 2 weeks together. It was also weird sleeping alone after having been accustomed to his body next to hers.

"Hey " Elena greeted as she came over and gave her a hug.

"Hello, my dear. How are you? Did you enjoy your time in Barcelona?" Sofia asked

Elena went to get herself a cup of coffee while maintaining a conversation, "Yeah! We had a lot of fun. Barcelona is beautiful, and not to mention incredibly hot" _Much like your son_, Elena thought as she blushed.

"I'm glad you had some fun! Did Stefan behave himself? He wouldn't tell me anything" Sofia said complaining about her son.

Miranda laughed at that. It was so typical for sons to withhold information, not because they were hiding anything, but because they didn't feel a need to share it.

Elena smiled as she came and sat down at the island with them, "he had fun, and he was on his best behavior for sure. Speaking of, where are the men in the family?" Elena asked innocently as she sipped on her coffee.

Miranda laughed, "Your father and Giuseppe are out at the golf course, and as for who you're really asking for, Stefan went out to grab some lunch from The Grill with Damon. He'll be back soon, don't worry" Miranda said as she winked.

This only made Elena blush hard, I mean Stefan's mother was present. But Sofia just laughed along with Miranda completely with ease.

"I hope my son is treating you well" Sofia said as soon as the chuckles died down.

Elena smiled to herself, Stefan was beyond amazing and he was incredibly caring.

"Yeah, he is" Elena simply said with a goofy smile on her face.

"You know, you guys seem happy" Sofia commented once she saw the blush and smile on Elena's face.

"We are. Your son is a complete gentleman" Elena said.

"Oh, Elena honey, before I forget, there is a huge bouquet of flowers that got delivered to you this morning." Miranda interjected

"For me?" Elena said as she got up to go check on the flowers.

Elena walked down the hall to the living room where the flowers sat on the coffee table. They were beautiful. A big bouquet of red roses; must have been at least a dozen.

Elena walked over with a smile on her face. Stefan was such a sweet heart. He was always thinking about her.

Right when she bent down to smell, the doorbell rang and in walked Damon with food in his hands.

"Hey, Damon" Elena greeted as she moved to grab the food from him to take to the kitchen.

"Hey, Len'" Damon said as he pressed his cheek to hers in a halfhearted hug, seeing as his hands were full.

"Steffie poo is right behind me, don't fret" Damon teased as he walked to the kitchen with the food in his hands.

Right when Elena turned around Stefan was walking through the door looking gorgeous as ever. He wore a plain black v-neck with beige pants accompanied by those boots of his that he always wore. He looked really good. Elena stood there and took in the sight of him in all his glory. His arms looked nice and big in that shirt and it clung to his chest perfectly.

Elena broke into a smile as she ran to him and jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist as one arm went straight to her head and the other stayed wrapped around her waist.

Stefan stood there holding her tight against his body for a couple of seconds before he set her down and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Hi babe" Stefan whispered against her forehead.

"Hi" Elena grinned like an idiot

Stefan looked at her quizzically. He wondered why she was so smiley.

"What has you in such a good mood?" Stefan wondered

"I get to see my boyfriend" Elena said as she grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him out of the hall and into the living room and kissing him gently yet fiercely on the lips. She let her arms rest on his shoulders before they moved down to his chest and rubbed circles there.

Stefan just smiled and kissed her for a bit before he pulled away, "Lena, your mother is in the next room" Stefan said trying to respect the fact that he was under her roof.

"Yeah and she is too busy being a gracious host, just like I am" Elena said before she brought her lips back to his and kissed him harder and longer.

Every time they kissed it felt like the first time. They got lost in the kiss and they loved the wandering hands. It was like finally getting air after being underwater for so long, it was like finally drinking water after being in the desert for so long, and it was like a need now.

Elena was the first one to pull away before she spoke, "Thanks for the flowers" she said as she let go of him and motioned towards the flowers sitting on the table.

Stefan made a noise, "Lena, I didn't get you flowers" Stefan said with confusion

Elena looked disappointed but then she began to wonder. If Stefan didn't give her flowers, then who did?

"That's strange; my mom said these flowers were delivered this morning to me." Elena said while looked for maybe a card or something that would indicate who it was from.

"I am the only man in your life, right?" Stefan said jokingly as he stood behind her and rubbed her back as she looked for a card.

"Ah hah! Found a card" Elena said looking up

"And yes, you are the only man in my life" Elena said as she gave him a peck on his cheek.

Elena stood there and opened the card that was addressed to her.

_"I look forward to seeing you Lena. – Jake"_

Elena stood there with the card in her hand. She didn't know what to say or what to do.

"Elena, not to seem like I'm jealous or something, but who is Jake?" Stefan asked

Elena turned around to face Stefan as she threw the card on the table, "Stefan, I don't know how to react to this and this might be really weird for you, but Jake is my ex-boyfriend" Elena said calmly trying to gage Stefan's reaction.

Stefan just stood there letting his arm drop from the small of Elena's back.

"Oh. And, what happened with this ex of yours?" Stefan asked

"Stefan, do we have to talk about this? I don't care about him, not anymore" Elena reasoned

"Elena, I just want to know. I mean if you're ex is back in town, I'd like to know" Stefan said with a little determination.

"Nothing happened, I just- he left town with his parents a year ago and now I guess he's coming back." Elena said

"I see. And do you think this is going to be an issue?" Stefan asked

"No, not when I feel the way I do about you. Do you trust me?" Elena asked as she walked towards him and hugged him.

"I trust you, babe." Stefan said as he kissed her head.

There was a knock on the door that Miranda came to answer.

"That should be your fathers" Miranda said looking at Stefan and Elena in each other's arms, smiling.

Miranda opened up the door, "Jake…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I hope you liked it! Leave a review!


	15. Chapter 15

I got quite a positive response with the events in the last chapter! Someone asked how old Stefan is, and to answer that, he is 20! Alas, here is chapter 15! Enjoy.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"What do you mean he is back in town" Caroline asked angrily while Bonnie sat at the table in the Mystic High library.

"He's back in town. I don't know what to say. Stefan knows about him though…" Elena said trailing off trying not to feel so down about this whole situation.

Truth is she didn't know what to say about it all. Yeah she no longer liked him, but will she always care? Probably. Will she act on that? Probably not. It was hard to tell, but she knew she wanted nothing to do with him because she was finally in a good place with Stefan and she cared so much about him.

But she had history with Jake, and they were good together at one point, they were happy. Fast forward to now, and he's making his way back into town. Chances are he is probably already here, enrolled in school. What would she say to him? Would she even meet up with him? Would she do that to Stefan? Or better yet, don't you think closure is something you need once you end a relationship? She had no idea, and honestly, the thought of all this was making her head hurt. She didn't want to screw this up.

"And what does Stefan have to say about this?" Bonnie asked

"Jake came over to my house yesterday, but I refused to see him. My mom had him leave because we had Stefan's family over for lunch. He said he trusted me, and I told him he had nothing to worry about, but I can tell this is weird for him, and understandably so." Elena responded.

"He doesn't deserve to see you again; you kicked him out of your life once. You can do it again" Caroline reminded Elena angrily.

"And what would that make me look like? A terrible person? I don't have a reason to not see him, but then again I don't exactly want to either." Elena said trying to sound reasonable.

"You aren't the terrible person, he is" Bonnie said quietly.

"We had our differences, but we were together once, and I respect that" Elena said, still trying to sound reasonable.

"You don't have to respect a man like that, he isn't worth it" Caroline said furiously

"Caroline, I'm done having this argument. I don't want this putting a strain on Stefan and I's relationship, so I will do whatever I can to try and get this over with quick as possible. And if that means meeting him, then so be it." Elena responded with a tone a little harsher than intended.

"Sorry I want to look out for you Elena, but you yourself know why things ended and keep that in mind." Caroline countered.

"I do remember and I do not need your reminders." Elena said before she got up and stormed off to history class well before the bell was supposed to ring.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"And here is your time table. Looks like you have history with Alaric Saltzman right now. That's just down the hall and to your right, room 102" Mrs. Pacrany told Jake as she handed him his timetable.

"Thanks" he smiled as he walked out of the office.

Right when he walked out of the office he heard a high pitched scream which he was fairly certain was his name.

When he was turned around he was brought face to face with the one and only Caroline Forbes.

"Caroline, always a pleasure to see you" Jake winked and smiled at her

"You listen to me right now" Caroline began

"Already? I haven't even been in school for an hour yet" he teased

"Shut the hell up and listen to me Jake Thomas Meyer" Caroline said leaning into him

"Aw come on, not cool Care. Just Jake will do!" he groaned.

"I want you to know that I am watching you. And one move to hurt Elena and I will chop off that dick of yours, got it?" She threatened?

"Care" he began slowly

"No listen to me, she doesn't need you back in her life and she is sure as hell better off without you. So don't you Care me" she said angrily.

"Care, I really want to make things right. I'm not here to hurt her, I never would" He said with honest sincerity, almost enough to fool Caroline.

"Should have thought of that when you put your dick in another girl" Caroline said as she walked away from him bumping his shoulder causing his papers to fall.

With a big sigh he bent over to pick them up when he saw another pair of hands helping him. He stood up to see a young man holding his timetable and looking at it.

"Thanks, man" Jake said as he grabbed the timetable out of the man's hand.

"No problem, I see you've met the wonderful Caroline" Stefan said as he saw the back of her head walking down the hall.

"That I have. I'm sorry, you're not a familiar face. Are you a student here or?" Jake asked trying to be polite.

"Oh, I'm a student teacher here. My name is Stefan Salvatore" Stefan said reaching his hand out.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Jake, Jake Meyer" He said taking his hand.

Stefan gripped his hand as it all pieced together. Jake as in, Elena's ex? Has to be, I mean he wasn't a familiar face and he did say he didn't know me, so he must have been here before.

Stefan dropped his hand and just looked at him for a brief second. He looked like the typical jock. Brown hair, red Lacoste polo paired with black jeans and a pair of Nikes.

He didn't exactly like this guy but he couldn't exactly show that. I mean from how Elena had reacted, she wasn't comfortable talking about it. He wouldn't force her to talk about it either, she would tell him when she was okay with it.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. See you around" Stefan said as he walked away down the hall towards his history class.

He didn't like this, and he had to see Elena and let her know that he bumped into him. Or should he? He probably should. He didn't want any of this to be a problem.

He took a deep breath and let out a big sigh. This was going to be interesting.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Elena sat in her desk patiently with her head down waiting for class to begin. She got there early after she stormed off on Caroline. She felt bad about storming off on her. Caroline was just looking out for her and Elena loved her to pieces. But Jake was such a touchy subject. It ruined her, and she just began to get her old self back. She found her old self when Stefan came back into town and she didn't want to be sucked back into the world of Jake. She refused to do so, but she needed an explanation. She needed that closure.

A cough directed towards her made her lift her head up off her desk. Stefan was standing at the front of the class with a pile of assignments to hand back.

She looked around and noticed Alaric sitting on the computer in the corner of the classroom. Surely he wouldn't care if they hugged before class. She needed it right now, she needed to feel safe in his arms and she needed the warmth of his embrace.

She got up while keeping her eyes on Alaric and walked to the door to close it before turning around and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Alaric shot his head up, "Elena, not now please. Class is about to begin" he reasoned

Stefan still kept his arms wrapped around Elena until she let go and stepped back from him.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked looking her in the eyes

"I got into a bit of an argument with Caroline" Elena said avoiding his eyes and looking down at her nails

"Argument about what? If you don't mind me asking" Stefan asked, ever so politely

"J-Jake" Elena said quietly as she looked up at him to see his reaction

Stefan dropped her gaze and looked to the pile of assignments on his desk as he began to fumble around with them.

"Speaking of, I just met him in the hall" He said as he took the pile of work and began to walk around distributing it out before the students came in.

This caught Elena's attention as her head shot up and she walked to him as he walked around the class.

"What do you mean you met him?" She asked

"I bumped into him in the hall, he introduced himself after he had a run in with Caroline." Stefan explained.

"Did he say anything to you? What did you say?" Elena asked frantically

Stefan stopped walking and turned around to face her after he let out a deep breath.

"Elena, calm down. He didn't say anything to me, nor did I. We introduced ourselves, and parted." Stefan explained

"Did you catch what Caroline said to him?" She asked

Right as she finished her sentence in walked Caroline with quite the expression on her face.

"I'm gonna go talk to her" Elena said

Stefan nodded as he turned to walk away

"Stef" Elena called out, "Let's go somewhere for lunch, we should talk" Elena said

Again, Stefan nodded.

Stefan didn't know what to do or what to say. He trusted Elena with every fiber of his being, but did he trust Jake? He didn't know. He would wait until he and Elena talked today at lunch.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Katherine!" Damon called when he walked into his condo

"In here, babe!" She yelled back from the bathroom

Damon smiled and walked to the bathroom where he saw Katherine wrapped up in a towel, fresh from her shower, and applying some moisturizer on her face.

"Hi beautiful" Damon said as he walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck.

Katherine let out a moan of appreciation, "Hi yourself" she said as she leaned back to press her back to his chest.

"What are you up to?" Damon asked

"Nothing much, just got out of the shower. I was going to take Bubbles over there to the park. Wanna come with me?" She asked as she stepped away from him and out of the bathroom into his room.

Damon silently followed her into his room where she dropped the towel to look for her panties in a bag she brought over.

"You're naked" Damon stated leaning against the door frame looking at her

"That I am, Damon" Katherine said not bothering to look at him

"You're naked, in my room" Damon said

"Yes, I am. Anything else you want to point out, Captain obvious?" She mocked, again, without turning to look at him

Damon left his spot against the door frame and walked over to her and picked her bridal style as she squealed and laughed, "Damon! Put me down!"

He walked over to the bed and threw her on it before he fell on the bed beside her, and wrapped her up in his arms.

"Damon, I'm naked" Katherine complained as she let her head rest on his chest.

"Anything else you want to point out, Captain obvious?" he mocked her as he ran his hand through her hair.

Katherine laughed at that. Okay, he got her there.

"So, I was wondering…" Damon said as he placed a kiss on Katherine's head.

"What were you wondering?" Katherine asked as she got up off his chest and pulled back the covers to lie down properly. She pulled on his arm and he soon followed under the covers with him.

"I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with my family and Elena this weekend." He asked turning on his side to face her.

Katherine smiled as she brought up a hand to rest on his cheek.

"You want me to meet your parents?" She asked with a bit of excitement.

"They already know you" he said trying not to make this a big deal.

"They do, but not as the woman you love" Katherine said feeling her insides warm up and tears pool at the corner of her eyes.

Damon smiled as he turned his head to kiss her palm that rested against his face.

"No, not as the woman I love" He repeated as she brought her body closer and connected their lips letting them mold to each other.

Katherine was the first one to pull away as she rested her forehead against his.

"I love you, Damon" Katherine said with complete sincerity.

Damon chuckled, "I like you too" he responded.

To that Katherine jumped on top of him and pinned him down by his arms at the top of his head on the pillow.

"Not fair. Tell me you love me" Katherine insisted.

"You don't need to hear me say something you already know" Damon countered trying not to ruin this bad boy image of his.

"D," she said with a stern voice, "say it" she said as she leaned down to press kisses to her jaw, neck and chest.

Damon quickly flipped them over and pinned her down, much like she did, and he placed a soft kiss to her forehead before he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I love you, Katherine Pierce" he said softly.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It was now lunch time and Elena was looking forward to talking to Stefan so she could finally clear the air. She still hadn't seen Jake yet, seems like he went back to his old ways of skipping classes. She hoped she wouldn't see him until she had talked to Stefan and reassured both herself and him about this whole situation.

She told Stefan she would meet him at The Grill. Elena headed to her car in the school parking lot when she saw him leaning against her car. She stopped, closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid, at least until after lunch.

She opened her eyes and walked on over to her car. She stopped right in front of him, a good meter away from him.

"Hey Lena'" he said softly with earnest sincerity.

"Jake" she simply said.

"It's nice to see you, Elena. I missed you" he said getting up from leaning against the car.

"You too. What are you doing back in town?" she asked as she swallowed

"My parents wanted to move back because my grandparents still live here, and they aren't doing so well right now." Jake explained

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Elena genuinely said

"Listen, Elena…" Jake began

"Whatever it is, it's going to have to wait Jake. I need to meet someone for lunch" Elena said interrupting him.

"This isn't gonna take long, just hear me out" He insisted.

Elena looked at the time on her phone, "You have five minutes" she said.

Jake smiled and brought his hands together and rubbed his face and ran his hand through his hair. Elena remembered running her own hands through his hair.

"I'm sorry for everything" he began

Elena shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other still listening to what he had to say.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be what you wanted me to be, and I'm sorry that I had to break your trust in me. I didn't mean for any of it happen and I just want you to know how much you mean to me, and how much I have missed you. It was wrong for me to be involved with another woman." He stopped to take a deep breath.

Elena looked away from his for about ten seconds before she turned around to face him.

"Jake, what's done is done. We're no longer together and you owe me no explanations. I just wished you hadn't done that. Was I not enough?" Elena said beginning to raise her voice

Jake moved to her to grab her by the shoulders gently, "No, I am so sorry. It wasn't you, it was me. I was the reason for all of this. And yes, you were enough, and I see that now. Listen, Lena, I just want another chance, give me another chance please. I'll do anything" He said basically begging and moving closer to her and holding her arms at this point.

"Jake, I'm over it, you should be too. Listen, I need to go" Elena said moving as he dropped his arms by his side.

She moved to unlock her door but Jake grabbed her arm and spun her around quickly capturing her lips in a heated kiss.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Yay! That was a fast update! Like I said, I am on summer vacation so updates will be more consistent! I hope you guys enjoyed this! Leave a review.


	16. Chapter 16

Quite the turn of events! I hope you guys are enjoying this thus far! Here is chapter 16!

**XXXXXXXX**

Jake let his hands run from the tops of her arms to her hands where he intertwined their fingers and brought them up to his chest, cradling them there like he used to do several times before.

Shocked, Elena froze and she felt her body stiffen at the unwelcome attention she was receiving. It was what they called an out of body experience. She didn't know what to do, so she stood there with her eyes closed waiting for Jake to be done.

When Jake noticed that she was refusing to kiss him back, he let go of her hands and broke away with a look of lust and confusion on his face.

But before he could say anything Elena had pushed him back as she slapped him across the face with all her power.

Jake grabbed his cheek and stared at her, and as he was about to open him mouth he heard a cough coming from behind him.

He turned around to see Stefan walking towards him, and he seemed mad. Jake turned around to see Elena but she was already walking away from him and towards Stefan.

As Stefan approached Jake quickly, he was leaning over him in no time and speaking to him in a hushed angry voice, "You better stay away from her, got it?"

Stefan didn't look at him long enough to hear his answer as he took Elena and got in the car as they drove away from Jake, leaving him dumbfounded over the fact that he drove away with her.

**XXXXXXXX**

When they reached a spot on the edge of the forest near the park, Stefan stopped and got out of the car. He went around to Elena's side and opened her door for her as she stepped out.

They had been quiet the whole ride over, neither of them knowing what to say. Stefan didn't know what to say or how to react. He knew it wasn't Elena's fault, and that Jake had pushed himself on her, yet he felt betrayed. But he had to quit his belly aching because this wasn't about him, this was about Elena. During the entire ride over here, not once did he ask her if she was okay.

Stefan let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and he turned around to face Elena, who was leaning against the car.

He walked up to her and took her into his arms without saying a word. Elena's arms came to wrap around his back as she said a silent prayer that we wasn't mad at her because he understood, he always would.

Elena kissed the spot on his chest where her head was resting as she hugged him tighter.

Stefan was the first one to loosen the hold as he began to speak, "Are you okay?" he asked almost silently.

"I am now" she said refusing to let go of him as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Elena, he kissed you" Stefan said. He wasn't accusing, nor was he mad, he was simply stating.

"I know, I was there" she responded simply.

Stefan let go of her to step back and look at her.

"Elena you need to stop doing that. Stop pretending like all of this is okay. Not once did you want to speak about him and your past and I understand that and you don't have to. But I want you to know that you can. You aren't even blaming him for kissing you. What is going on?" Stefan asked, almost pleading at this point.

Elena closed her eyes shut and ran her hand through her straight brown hair before she spoke.

"I'm trying to be the better person here, Stef. I know what kind of person Jake is and I'm trying to do the right thing. I don't want to hold this grudge and have this affecting our relationship. He doesn't have the right to walk back into town and mess up everything I have with you. I want to accept and just move on, move on with you." She said looking at him.

Stefan looked at Elena with a bit of wonder, he admired her. She was so righteous and so strong. She didn't want to hold him accountable for his faults just so there would be no drama ensuing around them. But what Elena didn't understand was that he had wronged her. And, being a good person or not, being wronged shouldn't be forgotten. Forgiven, yes, but no matter who it is, once you are hurt, it stays with you.

Stefan walked to her and took her hands into his own before he brought them up to his lips to place a kiss on them.

"Just talk to me, Elena. I want you to know that you can. And it's okay to hold him accountable for something. He wronged you and I want you to express how you feel by letting me know how you feel, or blaming him. Elena, please, don't shut me out" Stefan pleaded

Elena took a deep breath before she began to speak, "Jake and I, we started dating when we were 16. I was always friends with him and I guess one day we decided to take the next step. We were fine until the summer time, when there were parties after parties. I decided I wasn't going to go to one, until Caroline showed up at my door and dragged me to it. Jake didn't know that I was going to be there and I walked in on him fucking another girl. I didn't know what to do, so I just left and I never looked back. We didn't speak after that and before I know it, he's moving away. I just couldn't believe he would do something like that to me. I was hurt, and it took me a while to get back to my old self. But now he's back and I just don't know how to deal with it. Part of me wants to forgive and forget, but the other part of me just wants to run him over with your shiny car"

Stefan chuckled at that last part, as did Elena. Stefan moved to pull her into his arms again and as he began to rub her back, he spoke in a gentle voice.

"Elena, what he did was wrong and it is okay to be mad. I want you to know that I will never hurt you like he did. I will never do to you, what he did. You mean too much to me." Stefan confessed.

Elena relaxed in his arms a bit. She loved hearing Stefan admit how much she meant to him. She knew Stefan would never hurt her.

"I know you wouldn't. And that isn't what I'm worried about. I'm worried he is going to come between us. Jake is a bit of a stubborn ass. He usually gets what he wants." Elena said with a sad voice.

Stefan pulled back to cup her face between both his hands as he rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I will not let him get between us." He vowed as he bent down to capture her lips in a kiss. Elena leaned into the kiss as she let her hand run through his hair. Stefan felt her deepen the kiss and he groaned as he could taste her signature passion fruit lip balm on his tongue.

Stefan was the first one to pull away. Breathless, he leant his forehead against hers before he spoke. "Have I ever told you how much I love passion fruit?"

**XXXXXXX**

It was now a Friday and somehow Caroline and Elena were sitting in detention after school for being late to History because Caroline had a wardrobe malfunction that needed attending to.

Elena almost killed Caroline because she and Stefan had a date to go on tonight, and this would result in less time for her to get ready.

Caroline sat to her right playing around with her phone as Elena sat half on the chair and half on the desk patiently waiting for the hour to pass by.

Elena let out a big sigh as she waited for the detention monitor to come in. Elena closed her eyes shut as he mentally cursed Caroline for the 100th time.

She looked up and saw Caroline now pulling out an entire manicure set as she sat there and began to do her nails.

"Care, really? Here, in detention?" Elena asked laughing to herself.

Caroline looked over at her feigning insult, "Yes of course, here. We have an hour, what else am I supposed to do? Talk to the walls?" Caroline said sarcastically.

Elena rolled her eyes dramatically and went back to putting her head down on the desk quietly humming a tune to herself.

Things were going surprisingly well lately. Things with Jake were going unusually smooth. He would come to school for the past three days and he would keep to himself. He wasn't bothering Elena much, lately. He would smile at her from across the classrooms to which she would just look away.

Elena was happy she had that conversation with Stefan because it made her see a few things. Yes, she was wronged and she recognized that now. And she finally allowed herself to feel that anger and not bottle it up and mask it with the urge to be a better person. She no longer needed any closure because she realized what a dick he really was.

Elena let out yet another sigh, she wanted to stop thinking and she wanted to not be tense about these things. She forced her brain to shut out any thought as she sat there and began to count, _1…2…3…4…5._

When she reached five she heard the door open and shut but she refused to lift her head up and acknowledge whoever walked into the room.

Before she knew it she heard a big hearty laugh that could make the shittiest day, the most perfect one. That laugh could make her laugh, could give her the widest smile, and could set her nerves on end.

She lifted her head smiling to see Stefan standing at the front of the room with his side bag still on and his coffee mug in his hand.

Stefan was still laughing as he set his things down before he turned his attention to the only two girls sitting in detention.

"What are you two doing here? I was expecting some punk kids who get high in the bathroom stall, not you two." He laughed

Elena and Caroline both let out a groan and a growl at him for teasing them.

Caroline pulled out her phone and began to text away ignoring Stefan and his jests. Stefan walked over to where they were sitting and yanked Caroline's phone out of her hand.

"Hey!" She yelled when she jumped up out of her seat reaching for her phone as she fanned her other hand in an attempt to dry the wet nail polish.

Elena watched in amusement as Caroline tried to reach up around Stefan as he held the phone up high over her head.

"Caroline, stop it" Stefan said as he tried to keep the phone out of her reach.

"Stefan, give me my phone back!" She complained

"No" he simply said as he walked to the front and dropped it on his desk.

"What do you mean no?" Caroline asked

"I mean no. No phones during detention. You can get it back when you leave at the hour mark."

Caroline stared at him with her eyes wide open and her palm extended in a "what the hell is wrong with you" motion.

Stefan just stood there with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raise waiting for her to protest.

"Elena! Tell your boyfriend to give me my phone back!" Caroline complained.

Both Stefan and Elena at the same time yelled, "Care!" in attempts to shut her up in case someone heard anything.

"Ugh fine" she finally said, giving in as she sat down going back to her nails.

Elena turned her attention back to Stefan who was sitting at the front of the class looking through some ratty old book sitting on the desk looking uninterested.

The door opened and in walked Tyler with a football in his hand. Caroline looked up and smiled at him, as did Elena.

Stefan looked at the clock on the wall before he turned back to Tyler.

"You're late" he remarked

Tyler came and sat down in a desk beside Caroline, "Yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up in the halls" Tyler apologized.

Stefan nodded as he sat back down, "I'll be honest, I really don't care. As long as you came" Stefan said going back to the boring old book.

Tyler sat at the desk with his head down, Caroline was doing her nails, and Elena was sitting there like a sitting goose.

Elena coughed to get Stefan's attention, she was bored. Stefan did not acknowledge her cough the first time so she coughed again a bit louder this time.

Stefan looked up from his book to see Elena staring at him with a not so amusing expression on her face. Stefan raised his eyebrows at her trying to figure out what she needed.

_I'm bored_ she mouthed at him dramatically pouting at the end. Stefan smirked at her before he shrugged his shoulders indicating that he didn't care.

Elena gave him an incredulous look before she got up and walked to the desk.

"Stefan, I'm bored." She stated again quietly.

"Detention isn't supposed to be fun" Stefan stated without looking up from his book.

Frustrated, Elena grabbed the book out of his hand and threw it down on the desk.

"Put the god damn book down Stefan" she said a bit louder.

At this, Tyler raised his head and furrowed his brows at their interaction.

Elena blushed as she realized that she had spoken a little too loudly. Tyler, not caring, put his head back down as he put his headphones in.

"Elena, go sit down. You're in detention and I'm the one in charge right now. Plus, we're in a school setting, call me Mr. Salvatore." He smiled. He knew how much she hated calling him Mr. Salvatore and how much she hated the fact that they couldn't exactly be public together.

"_Mr. Salvatore_," she mocked "I'm bored" she said again.

Stefan took in a deep breath as he stood up to face her. "Elena, I can't do anything. Why don't you go do your nails like Caroline is" Stefan suggested

"Because, they're already done" she said showing him her hands.

Stefan looked at her hands and smiled to himself, and suddenly he looked up at her face and licked those lips that she loved running her tongue along.

"Mmm, how about you go think about what you're gonna wear tonight" he whispered in a dark sultry voice.

Elena felt the shift in the air as he spoke in a deep voice that set her hair on end.

"I suppose I could. What do you want me to wear?" She asked flirtatiously.

"Nothing, if you ask me" he responded with a smile.

A cough from Caroline broke them out of their little bubble. They hadn't noticed that they had begun to get close to each other.

They stepped away from each other exchanging glances as Caroline rolled her eyes at the love birds.

Stefan laughed and turned away to sit back down when Elena caught his arm.

"I'm going to a party next Friday, with Caroline. Tyler is throwing it because his parents are out." Elena explained.

Stefan nodded as he looked up at her to respond, "Okay, make sure you get home safe if you're going to be drinking. Better yet, you can call me. And remember that you have a boyfriend" he whispered the last part as he chuckled.

"I'll get home safe, don't worry. And yes, yes. I have a boyfriend, I will remember, don't worry." She chided.

"I'm going out for dinner with Katherine that night anyways, so I won't be totally alone and bored. She keeps complaining that we don't hang out anymore since we both got into relationships. She just wants to catch up" Stefan explained

"Stef, you don't have to explain yourself to me. Go out for dinner with her, and ask her if she wants to go out on a double date sometime. We haven't gone since last time." She said.

"Okay, I will. Now why don't you go sit down and behave little missy" Stefan mocked as she went back and sat down. Elena turned her head and stuck her tongue at him.

She was happy, and she couldn't wait until their date tonight. She loved him so much and she finally realized that. The trick was, how would she tell him?

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Well, now that Elena knows she loves him, things might get interesting! And things have been quiet with Jake! Good or bad? Leave a review letting me know what you think! Thank you guys for such an amazing response! (:


	17. Chapter 17

This is nothing but fluff, so be warned. Thank you for reviewing! I hope you enjoy! (:

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan and Elena sat beside each other at their date enjoying themselves and loving the feel of the night so far. They were always more than happy to spend time with each other just because they are each other's world at this point.

The soft music in the background of the restaurant keeps the mood light and fun as the night goes on. They're laughing, smiling and even playing a little footsie underneath the table.

They kept the conversation flirty as they were sending each other look of want and need throughout their date.

Elena sat with her arm looped through Stefan's and her head on his shoulder as his arm came to rest between her bare thighs from her dress. Their feet and legs were tangled and they loved being close to one another.

Truth is they haven't had much time together since their trip because things have been crazy with midterms and the whole secrecy with their relationship, so they were especially grateful for the time they got to spend together tonight.

"I can't believe that we've been together for almost three months already" Elena said as she drank her water.

Stefan rubbed her thighs and hummed, "I know it feels like it's been forever" he said with a smile.

Elena smiled as she intertwined their fingers, "you know, I never thought that my senior year would end up like this"

Stefan squeezed her hand, "like what?"

"You know, head over heels for a boy" She said playing a kiss on his bicep.

Stefan let out a low sexy chuckle, "I hope you mean me" he said playfully

Elena moved her head off his arm and moved to kiss his cheek softly before moving up to whisper in his ear, "you" she moved to lay another kiss on his jaw but this one was hot and open mouthed before she moved back up to his ear again, "always you" she finished.

Stefan couldn't believe how lucky he was. He had the most amazing woman in his arms right now and he knew that all she wanted was him. He loved it, he was finally in a good place in his life and this relationship was everything he wanted.

Stefan let out a growl as he made eye contact her big brown eyes, "you gotta stop doing things like that" he complained.

"Things like what?" Elena said innocently as she ran her hand up arm and across his strong, muscular back.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Stefan said feigning shock

Elena smiled and looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes before she kissed their intertwined hands, "maybe" she said simply.

Stefan loved this playful side of Elena that was coming out this evening. Stefan stared into her eyes for a bit before their waiter came to ask if they were done.

The broke their gaze as they looked up at the waiter and nodded indicating that they were done and that they wanted the check.

Their waiter quickly left and came back holding the little black book and Stefan took care of the bill. Elena stood and put on her cardigan. It was surprisingly warm for a late November evening.

"Ready?" Stefan asked as he got up to take her hand into his.

"Ready" she said taking his hand and leading the way outside.

Elena looked up at the stars as they walked out hand in hand before she turned to him, she pulled to stop him in his tracks and he stopped, coming face to face with Elena.

"Thank you for tonight" Elena said leaning up on her tiptoes to place a kiss on Stefan's cheek.

Stefan was a bit disappointed because he didn't want a kiss on the cheek, he wanted to kiss her deeply and passionately so she could feel how much he loved her.

Yes, Stefan loved her and he wanted to be able to say it, but worried it was a bit too soon. I mean, their three months was nearing and it was still early. But Stefan couldn't help what he felt for Elena, it was so strong and their connection was unbelievable. They had this electric feel that would buzz through the other as soon as they were close to each other. They loved that they could sense one another and they savored each moment, each touch, each kiss, and each word they shared.

Stefan moved back to look at her face and he brought his hand up to stroke her face.

"You're welcome, beautiful. But the night isn't over. I want you to come with me" he said taking her hand and walking her to the passenger side of the car where he opened the door for her and before she sat in, he got a good smack at her ass.

"Hey!" she yelped and giggled as she sat down smiling at him.

"Mine" he said before closing the door and walking around to the other side and driving off to their destination.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

It took them about 45 minutes to get to their next destination before Stefan pulled over. It was now 8oclock and the sun had just set and it was getting dark but Stefan stepped out of the car and walked to the other side to open the door for Elena.

"Where are we?" Elena asked taking his hand and looking around the surrounding areas.

Stefan walked to the back of his car and pulled out a blanket and a few pillows that he lay down on the grass in front of his car. He sat down and motioned for Elena to come sit with him.

Elena smiled, Stefan was so sweet and he always paid attention to the smaller details, like bringing a blanket and pillows so they could lie down in the grass. He was so sweet and it made Elena's insides tingle because he was so caring and she loved him and this made her insides feel all mushy and set her hair on end and made her smile like a child. She loved him, and she would tell him, tonight.

"Well are you gonna keep staring at me all night or are you gonna come here?" Stefan complained when Elena wouldn't move.

"You are so needy" Elena complained as she sat down beside him and as soon as she sat down, Stefan quickly pulled her flush against his chest as he leaned back on the pillows.

Stefan brought his arms around her as she sat between his legs with her back on his chest. He kissed her hair and he moved to whisper in her ear, "I am very needy" he said before he placed a kiss on her ear.

"Stef, what are we doing here?" Elena complained moving out of his embrace so she could see his face. She adjusted herself so now they lay side by side with her head on his arm that stretched behind her head, her hand on his chest, and his other hand holding hers as it lay on his stomach.

"Look up" he said as he smiled at her. Elena looked up and gasped when she saw how bright the stars were shining.

She usually could never see the stars but I guess they were pretty far, so they could get a clearer view.

"It's beautiful" she said gazing up at the sky in wonder and amazement. But Stefan was looking at her and at that big smile on her face.

"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen" he said honestly as his eyes remained glued to her face.

Elena felt the charge in the atmosphere as she heard Stefan say those words. She slowly turned to face him with a smile on her face that could lighten up the entire earth if the sun one day happened to perish.

Stefan couldn't help but lean forward and capture her lips in a kiss as she moaned into his mouth.

They stayed there for five minutes just kissing, feeling, and tasting one another. Their lips moved in synchronization against each other.

Elena was the first one to move away but she just moved on top of Stefan and lined their bodies up against each other.

She stayed there, breathless for a bit before she bit her bottom lip and placed another soft kiss on his lips before pulling away again.

Elena stared into his green eyes with love and adoration. She brought her hand up while maintaining eye contact with him, and placed it on his cheek.

Stefan took her hand and placed a kiss on her fingers.

"What are you looking at?" he asked quietly as he placed another kiss on fingers.

"I'm looking at you and I'm wondering how I got so lucky" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked with a cocky smile

Elena leaned forward and nuzzled his nose with hers before pulling back and whispering

"I love you"

There, she said it. She felt it, so she finally said it. She didn't want to hold back in this relationship and she wanted to make sure that there were no regrets. She didn't need Stefan to say it back in that very moment, but she wanted him to know how she felt. She wanted to finally express what it felt like to be in love.

The look in Stefan's eyes changed from playful adoration to loving passion. Stefan felt his chest tighten at these three simple words this girl who was lying on his chest, said. He felt like he didn't know what to say. He wanted to say the words back but it's like her words swallowed his own.

Stefan moved to a sitting position with Elena still in his lap, straddling his waist with her long tan legs that were bare from her dress riding up.

"Elena, I-"he said before he stopped speaking.

This made Elena frown just a bit. Maybe it was too soon, maybe he didn't feel the same way, she thought.

"You don't have to say it back if you don't feel it" Elena said finally. She continued, "I just need you to know" she finished.

Stefan's passionate gaze quickly turned into anger. How could Elena think that he didn't feel it? He felt everything and it was the most intense thing he's felt in his 20 years of life.

"Are you nuts?" he asked with a bit of a playful rage to his voice.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him not knowing where this was going to go.

"Elena Anne Gilbert, why would you even think that I don't feel the same way? You mean everything to me and I want you to know that. I love you" he spoke the last part softly against her lips as he brought himself closer and left a soft, searing kiss on her lips. He sucked her bottom lip playfully into his before biting into it softly as he let it go.

Elena had her eyes closed when he pulled back to look at her face. Elena opened her eyes to find him staring right back at him.

"Say it again" he whispered against her cheek.

She left a kiss in his hair, "I love you", she left a kiss on his forehead, "I love you", a kiss on his cheek, "I love you" a kiss on his nose, "I love you"

And before she could kiss him on the lips he beat her to it and closed the gap between their lips before breaking away, "I love you" he whispered, finishing what she had started.

**XXXXXXXX**

It was now Saturday, the day Elena and Katherine were to have dinner with the Salvatore family.

Stefan sat in the kitchen taste testing all the food his mother was making like a 15 year old child.

"Ma, this is great" he said tasting a piece of the chicken she grilled to toss into the pasta.

Sofia came around to where he was sitting at the island and swatted his hand away from the plate he was picking it.

"Stefan, you're not a child. Stop picking at the food I am going to be serving." She said, scolding him.

"I promise Elena won't mind her half eaten meal that I ate. She loves me" he said with a big smile as if he was proud of himself.

Sofia turned around at the mention of the word love. Love? That was a big loaded word to be throwing around so early on in their relationship she thought.

Sofia looked at him before she spoke, "Love? Are you sure? She's only 18" she said.

"I'm sure, Ma. I don't know, with Elena, it's just _different._" He tried to explain.

"How so?" Sofia asked taking a seat at a stool across from him, wanting to hear more about his son and how his life is going. She missed him. In New York, they at least lived close together. But in Mystic Falls, The Boarding house was a bit further out towards the outskirts of the town.

"I don't know. I just, feel different when I'm around her. My insides shake when I'm not with her, and when we touch, its electrifying. There is this gravity that pulls us to one another and she makes me want to be a better person, for her. I want to do everything in my power to see her smile, hear her laugh and be happy. She makes me happy, and I know that if I were to live without her, it would be the exact opposite, I wouldn't be living" he explained carefully gaging his mother's reaction.

Sofia smiled the biggest smile that Stefan had ever seen. Stefan couldn't help but smile back at her.

"My little boy is in love" she said getting up from her spot and laying a kiss on his head before hugging him.

"Ma" he said complaining when she tried to give him another kiss on his forehead which he dodged.

"What?" she said, "I'm just glad you're finally in a place where you are happy in life. My two boys are growing up so fast and I just want to capture these moments. Moments like these mean a lot Stefan, make sure you relish in them and feel the importance of them. You're never going to get these moments again, so remember what it felt like to be in love with Elena Gilbert in 10 years from now." Sofia said brushing his hair above his ears and she raked her fingers through his hair with a motherly love.

"I know, mom" he said simply with a smile upon his face.

"Am I disrupting anything here?" Damon said as he walked into the kitchen seeing his mother and brother interact so lovingly.

"No, not exactly, just teaching Stefan some life lessons" Sofia said as she went back to preparing dinner for her guests.

"How come I don't get these life altering lessons from you or dad?" Damon said pretending to be hurt.

"Because, D, you don't need them. They know how you feel about life. Never taking anything seriously, having fun and making sure you live your life like the stud that you pretend to be." Stefan said.

"Actually, Steffie Poo, I take a lot of things seriously. And I want you to know that I can be more than the play boy people paint me out to be" Damon said.

"Speaking of, how are things going with Katherine?" Stefan asked.

Stefan really missed hanging out with Katherine and he hasn't really talked to her much lately and he feels bad for that. He cares a lot for her and he wants to know that his ass-hat of a brother is doing everything he can to make Katherine happy.

At the mention of Katherine's name, Damon smiled and got a soft look in his eyes.

"Things are going good with her. We got the 'I love you' down packed, now we just enjoy each other's company. We got a dog, she named him Bubbles." He said with a smile.

"Wow D, you are whipped." Stefan said laughing at his brother and how this was a complete 180 from his perceived personality.

"Stefan don't say that about your brother. He is just in love, much like you are" Sofia chided as she chopped up tomatoes and tossed them into the salad she was preparing.

"Anyways, I am going to go shower" Stefan said getting up off the kitchen stool.

"How come you don't shower at your place" Damon complained.

"Because, I'm here, I need to shower and I brought my clothes over" Stefan said smiling at Damon.

Stefan got up to what used to be his old room and stripped down butt naked when his phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered without looking at the screen

"Hi" Said Elena in a cheery voice over the phone.

"Hi" Stefan said equally as cheery.

"What are you up to?" Elena asked with a smile in her voice.

"I am about to go take a shower, what are you up to?"

Elena giggled, "Well what do you know, I am just about to take a shower as well" She said.

"Ou, maybe we should shower together, you know, water conservation and all" Stefan joked.

"Hmm, I wouldn't mind that actually" Elena said in a flirty voice.

"Neither would I. We need to make that happen, ASAP. What do you say to tonight?" Stefan asked jokingly.

"Yes. Tonight" Elena said firmly.

Stefan just laughed to that. Surely she wasn't serious about any of what they were joking around about.

"Anyways, what do I bring over for dinner? Flowers? A bottle a wine? What do your parents like?" Elena asked worryingly.

"Flowers are good. My mother loves flowers, and my dad doesn't really care much for things like this. He much rather have a nice time and get to know you" Stefan explained.

"Okay, I'll pick up some flowers on my way. Do you want me to bring anything before I come over?" Elena asked.

"Nope, I just need your fine ass" Stefan said with a smirk.

Elena laughed at this playful attitude. "Okay, I'm going to go jump in the shower. I'll see you when I come over" Elena said.

"Ah ah ah, are you missing something?" Stefan asked feigning disappointment.

Elena smiled to herself and felt her insides flutter, "I love you" Elena said

"I love you too" Stefan said with a wide smile.

"Bye babe"

"Bye"

Stefan hung up the phone with a big smile on his face. Gosh he loved that girl. Hopefully tonight would go smoothly. He was excited for his parents to finally meet the girl he loves so he could show off how wonderful she truly was.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Next chapter will be the dinner and a week jump to the party next Friday! I hope you guys liked this update and review to let me know what you think! Thanks! (:


	18. Chapter 18

Enjoy!

**XXXXXXXX**

Elena stood outside the door of the boarding house fixing her dress and checking her hair in the reflection of her phone as she held the purple flowers she got for Sofia.

Elena was beyond nervous. Why, she didn't know. It wasn't like it was the first time she was meeting Stefan's parents. But still, she was nervous because now they would be meeting her as their son's girlfriend.

Elena let out a breath of air before she rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open up the door. It was Sofia who opened up the door for her with a big warm smile.

"Hi dear! Come on in!" Sofia said warmly

Elena smiled back at her, it was hard not to. The aura of Sofia Salvatore was of such caliber, that it was a tad contagious.

"Thank you Mrs. Salvatore, these are for you" Elena said walking into the house as she handed the flowers to Sofia.

"They are beautiful, thank you so much Elena. And please, call me Sofia." Sofia said as she smiled at her and walked away leading the way into the house.

"Well, I believe this is the first time you are at our house? No?" Sofia asked as she began to put the flowers into a vase.

"Yes, it is. You have a beautiful home though, very spacious." Elena admired as she looked around.

"Why thank you" Sofia said as Giuseppe walked into the kitchen

"Nobody told me the party arrived" he complained as he walked into the kitchen

He walked on over to Elena before giving her a side hug as he kissed her head in a fatherly way.

"Hi dear, it's always a pleasure to see you. How is Grayson doing?" He asked as he sat down

"Hi Mr. Salvatore, thanks for having me. And dad is good, he was planning on going to the golf course tomorrow morning. So you're more than welcome to join him" Elena said smiling at the two.

"Why yes, I suppose I should go. I always beat your father anyways" He said winking at Elena while tooting his own horn.

"Where is the modesty? Then you scold Damon for the exact same behavior" Sofia said.

Giuseppe laughed and nodded. Yes, he supposed he was a bit hypocritical in that department. But that's what parents are for!

"Speaking of, where are my boys?" Sofia asked looking at the time on the stove. It was now 6pm.

"I believe Stefan is showering upstairs and Damon went to go pick up Katherine" Elena said while playing with her hands, looking down at her feet.

Sofia laughed, "Well you know the whereabouts of my sons better than I do myself!"

Elena laughed at that before she spoke, "I talk to Stefan a lot." She said simply.

Giuseppe was the one to speak this time, "How is my son treating you? Well, I hope." He asked

Elena smiled thinking about the way Stefan treats her. He treats her like she is his queen. With so much love, attention and care.

"Your son is amazing" Elena said with a smile

"Well, yeah. That I am" Elena heard coming from behind her. Elena turned around to see Stefan leaning against the kitchen doorframe looking like a Greek god.

You could see his muscles through the plain grey v-neck and my god did he look good. Elena was still staring at him when Sofia's voice broke up her attention.

"Well, I am going to go set the table up for some snacks. Giuseppe dear, help me. And Stefan, be a gracious host and show Elena around the house." Sofia said grabbing her husband's hand and dragging him out of the kitchen just so she could give them some alone time.

Stefan just laughed at his mother before turning his attention to the extra body in the room who was smiling at him.

"Hey" he said still leaning against the door

"Why are you still leaning against that goddamn door" Elena complained sitting on one of the spinning stools at the kitchen island.

Stefan moved away from the doorframe but he still didn't move. He walked towards Elena licking his lips because in this moment she never looked more beautiful.

Her hair wasn't straight like it usually was, but rather it was wavy and it cascaded down her back and onto her shoulders. She was wearing a lace white dress that came up to just above her knees paired with a denim jean jacket. And she looked amazing.

Stefan walked until he stood in front of Elena. Elena looked up at him waiting for him to make the next move.

"You look absolutely beautiful" he said reaching out to touch her bare legs that looked so inviting.

"Mmm, you don't look so bad yourself. I love these muscles of yours" Elena said reaching up and running her hands from his abs up to his chest and out to his arms grabbing at his biceps.

Stefan rubbed her bare legs before he leaned closer to kiss her inviting lips. They tasted like her signature passion fruit lip balm and he loved it. He kissed her sweetly before he brought one of his hands and placed them on the side of her face. Her mouth was warm, she tasted like Elena and it drove both of them insane.

Breathlessly, they broke apart after they heard a rather loud cough.

"Guys, please? Not in my kitchen" Damon said walking in with Katherine trailing behind him with a big bubbly smile on her face.

Stefan and Elena just looked at each other before Stefan broke into laughter and Elena blushed.

Right when Stefan moved out of Elena's embrace, Katherine came running into him throwing her arms around his neck.

"Stefan!" She greeted loudly

"Katherine?" he greeted right back with a bit of a questioning tone.

Elena and Damon now stood beside each other watching the two best friends interact.

"You know, if you two weren't BFFLS for life and all, I would be worried" Damon said as he was eating some almonds he found on the kitchen island.

To that, Elena just nodded as she took an almond after Damon offered her some.

"Shut up, D" Stefan said as he finally gave Katherine the hug she wanted and let her go.

"What is up with you? You don't talk to me anymore just because you have a girlfriend?" Katherine chastised.

"I could say the same for you, Kat. My brother is hardly a good enough reason to stop talking to me" Stefan countered back.

"You two are way too dramatic. It's been like 2 weeks, not even" Damon said

"Hey" Katherine said sending him a glare.

Damon just stuck his tongue out at her.

"Well, we're going out for dinner next Friday. So, don't flop on me" Katherine reminded Stefan.

"I won't. But for now, I am going to go show Elena around the house" Stefan said taking Elena's hand and leaving the kitchen.

When they left, Katherine came over and leaned against Damon as he wrapped his arm around her.

"They are so perfect for each other" Katherine said sighing.

"They really make each other happy" Damon noted

"You make me happy too, you know that?" Katherine said looking up at him from his side.

Damon smiled and leaned down to place a kiss on her lips.

"You make me happy too, babe" Damon said sweetly.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"That was the first of many times when Stefan refused to put on clothes. He loved being naked, I don't know what it was!" Sofia said laughing as they all sat in the living room sharing childhood stories.

Elena and Katherine were more than welcomed into the household and they were enjoying themselves.

"Well I've always had such an amazing body, so why not show it off?" Stefan teased trying to lessen the embarrassment.

"Hey now, let's not get too hasty, I mean, you also have a brother named Damon" Damon said winking.

"Mine is without a doubt better than yours" Stefan said looking back down at the pie they were all having for dessert.

"Alright that's enough, let these guys finish up their desserts before you guys start taking off your shirts" Giuseppe joked.

Stefan just laughed as he reached for Elena's hand and brought it up to his mouth to place a kiss on it. It was so natural and he didn't even have to think twice about it. Not when he was around Elena.

Elena just giggled as everyone else fell into their own conversations.

"Are you having a good time?" Stefan asked before he settled into the couch and brought his arm around Elena's shoulders and pulled her into his side.

"I am having an amazing time, I love your family. They're so warm and welcoming. I feel right at home" Elena said kissing his cheek softly.

Stefan couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He loved hearing that Elena felt at home with his family. His family was the most important thing to him and he was glad that Elena could recognize that and make the effort. God he loved this girl.

"I don't think you understand how happy that makes me. I love you" Stefan said whispering in her ear before placing a kiss on her head.

Elena looked up at him and she placed her chin on his shoulder before she quietly whispered back, "I love you"

For the next half an hour everyone was laughing and talking before there was a loud clap of thunder that startled them. All of a sudden they heard the downpour of rain that was louder than anything they've heard before.

"You have got to be kidding me" Damon said getting up from his spot on the couch before he went to the window to look out at the weather.

He groaned from the window. Even though it was only 8oclock, it was rather dark out with the clouds and all.

"It only looks like the weather is going to get worse" Sofia said as she peeked out the window.

"Yeah, I think I should go before the weather starts to pick up." Katherine said looking out the window.

Truth is, Katherine was scared of thunder storms. As a child she experienced a lot of thunder storms and when her neighbor's car got struck with lighting, it was permanently etched into her memory.

Elena nodded and piped in, "Yeah, me too" she said.

Giuseppe was the first one to stand up, "Well, we only want you girls to get home safe. So we can always hang out another time."

They all got up and made their way to the door to say their goodbyes.

"Thank you so much for dinner, I really enjoyed myself" Elena said turning to face Stefan's parents.

"Anytime! Please, come over more often, dear. Both of you" Sofia said motioning to Katherine who was standing there.

"Yes, absolutely, thank you so much for tonight." Katherine said leaning in and giving them both a hug.

Damon and Katherine left first seeing as Damon was the one who brought her over. Then Stefan and Elena left shortly after them.

They were sitting in Stefan's car driving in a different direction than Elena's house when Elena spoke up.

"Babe, are you taking me home or?" Elena said looking at him

"Well, it's only 8:12. What do you say to seeing my own place?" he proposed as he shot a wink at her.

"Mr. Salvatore, are you taking me back to your place?" Elena said seductively as she reached over to run a hand up his leg to rest near his crotch.

Stefan swallowed a bit before Elena brought her hand back to her own lap.

"I don't know, you tell me. You were the one who said that you wanted to conserve water, earlier today" Stefan countered back.

To that Elena just laughed before her phone began to ring. She looked at the screen and it was her mother.

"My mom is calling. Should I tell her that I'm going over to your place? I don't know how she is gonna feel about that" Elena said trailing off.

Sure she was 18 now but she still lived under her parents' roof and she had to abide by their rules. Miranda might have an issue with her going back to Stefan's house for the night, no matter how much she liked Stefan.

"Well that depends. It is Saturday, would you like to sleep over?" Stefan asked seductively raking his eyes from her head to her toes, drinking her in with his lust filled eyes.

"Mmm, I don't know. Are you going to be sleeping on the couch?" She teased as the rain really began to pick up.

Elena quickly answered the phone and just told her that she would be staying over at Caroline's for the night because it was closer to the boarding house, and in this weather that would be the best choice.

Miranda quickly agreed and told her to have a good time with Caroline and to come home after breakfast in the morning. Elena agreed and said her goodbyes.

Stefan pulled up into the parking of his condo which happened to be above ground. Elena groaned loudly. She was going to get soaking wet.

"Stefan, I am going to get soaked out there" Elena said not taking her eyes off the heavy downpour of rain accompanied by the loud thunder and bright lightning.

"Oh quit your complaining. Come on, we'll run" Stefan said his eyes dancing with excitement.

"Promise me something first" Elena said finally looking at him.

Stefan was a bit confused but he nodded indicating that she should continue.

"Kiss me in the rain" Elena said softly, want and need coating her voice without her even noticing.

"Deal" Stefan said before he opened the door and quickly stood outside waiting for Elena to do the same.

Elena took a deep breath in and let it out as she stepped out into the rain before she ran to Stefan who was standing on the other side.

Stefan could barely keep his eyes open in the heavy rain when he felt Elena's hand on his side dragging his body closer to hers. They were both already drenched in the rain and they could feel each drop against their skin.

Stefan brought his hands to rest on her waist before his lips fell on Elena's neck leaving a trail of hot wet kisses up her neck, across her jaw and up to her ear to whisper, "are you cold?" he asked as he rubbed his hands all over her body making her moan softly. Elena whispered, "No" before she brought her hands to tangle in his wet bronze hair.

Elena felt every line of her body pressed up against his and she loved the feel of it. His shirt clung to his body and Elena could feel and almost see each line and contour of his Greek like body.

Elena felt Stefan's warm mouth place a kiss on her neck that was a mixture of his lips and tongue and it made her shiver and groan. Her groan was quickly covered by thunder as Stefan brought his lips up to her other ear to whisper again, "good, cause I'm hot" he said sucking right underneath her ear.

Stefan could taste everything on his tongue. He could taste her perfume, her lotion and the sweet taste of rain all mixed into one. It was perfect, the combination of Elena and rain. He loved it.

Elena couldn't take it anymore and she quickly dragged him by his hair to finally meet his lips where they collided with a fiery passion.

Their lips, their tongue and teeth clashed against one another's and they lost themselves in the kiss. All Stefan could taste was Elena and all Elena could taste was Stefan.

Stefan was the first one to pull away breathlessly as he stared into Elena's eyes.

"I love you" he said with a strong voice so she could hear him over the rain and thunder.

"I love you" Elena said bringing their lips back together. Elena was the one to pull away this time before she grabbed Stefan's hand and ran towards the entrance of his condo.

They got in the elevator and made their way to Stefan's apartment. Stefan said a mental prayer hoping and praying Nik wasn't home tonight.

When Stefan reached in his pocket to get his keys to open the door, Elena stood behind him and was hugging him from behind. Her arms looped around the front of his body and her hands were running up and down his strong chest and torso feeling every muscle and cut along the way.

"mmm" Elena appreciated as Stefan was struggling to get the key in the hole.

"You better not be that bad at getting things in holes" Elena said teasing and joking.

Stefan couldn't believe what he was hearing but right when he shoved the key in the hole he looked over his shoulder to say, "Trust me. I can find holes just fine" he winked before he took a hold of her hand and brought her inside his condo.

Elena looked around to appreciate the place. It had such a modern vibe to it and it screamed Stefan. There was a complete wall that was a book shelf with just a TV in the center, there was a glass coffee table and there was an entire glass wall that faced the backside of his condo which was all wilderness.

"I really like your place. It's nice and cozy" Elena commented

"Well, why don't we get you out of these wet clothes first" Stefan said suggestively as he picked Elena up bridal style as she let out a squeal followed by a giggle as he took her straight to his room.

Right when Stefan set Elena down in the bedroom, the lights went out leaving them in pitch black darkness.

"Are you kidding me?" Stefan groaned trying to flick the lights on and off. The power must have gone out with the storm.

All he could hear was Elena's giggles as she stepped out of his embrace and felt her way along the room before she finally stopped in front of his bed.

"Too bad the lights went out huh babe. I guess now you won't be able to see what I'm taking off. Woops, there goes my jacket" Stefan heard a swoosh and something hit the ground.

"Hey, no. No, no, no and no. I want to see this, so you better not take anything else off. I am going to get some candles" he said before he went in search for some candles leaving Elena alone in the dark.

Stefan felt his way around his living room before he got to the kitchen and felt for the 3rd drawer to the left where he kept all his candles. He grabbed a few and grabbed a lighter and made his way back into his room.

"Stefan, hurry up. I'm getting cold" Elena complained as she patiently waited for Stefan to speed up the process.

Stefan set some candles down and quickly lit them, letting the room illuminate itself slowly. When he was finished, he made his way back to Elena where he saw the faint shadow of her body.

Elena reached out to grab Stefan and bring him into his arms letting his body warmth heat up her own.

"Why don't we go conserve some water? I know you wanted to do that tonight" Stefan said whispering softly into her ear as he laid a kiss on it.

Elena's breath softly caught in her throat but it didn't go unnoticed by Stefan.

Stefan placed a kiss on her forehead before he pulled back to whisper, "I know this would be the first time we see each other" he said.

Elena laughed a bit nervously, "Yeah, it is. I didn't think guys cared or noticed things like that" she mentioned.

"You do when you love the girl" he said quietly before he added, "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready" she said, meaning it in more way than one.

Stefan slowly let his head dip down to capture her lips in a soft kiss full of love and passion. As they kissed and felt each other, Stefan slowly reached behind Elena to finger the zipper to her dress.

Stefan pulled back just a bit, their lips still touching as they exchanged breaths intimately.

"Can I?" he asked sweetly

"Yeah" Elena breathed out ready to take the next step with her boyfriend.

Stefan slowly pulled the zipper down and like there was a chain attached to the zipper and his lips, his lips fell on her shoulder leaving slow kisses there. He kissed his way across her shoulder, to her next, as both the shoulders were exposed bare. Her dress dropped to the floor as she was left in her black matching undergarments.

Elena couldn't help but run her hands through his hair and down the front of his body to play with the hem of his shirt as she slowly lifted it up to take it off.

Stefan moved back to brush the wet hair out of Elena's face and behind her ear before he smiled at her.

"You are so beautiful" he said staring into her eyes and not at her body.

It was in that moment that Elena realized she had found someone truly special. Someone who would look at her, in her eyes and whisper everything she had ever wanted to hear; to hear that she was beautiful, to hear that she was wanted and to hear that she was loved.

Stefan dragged his hands from her ribs to rest at her side and slowly massaged the skin there, loving the way it felt in his hands.

Elena's lips found his neck as she attacked it with kisses. She kissed her way down his neck and to his shoulder as she gripped his muscular back, reveling in the way his bare torso felt against her own.

Stefan let out a quiet moan as he felt her lips descend upon his chest and make their way up to the other side of his neck.

She sucked slowly at his collarbone before dragging her lips up to his jaw where she left opened mouthed kisses.

She moved up to breathe hotly into his ear before she bit down on it softly, teasingly, before she whispered, "why don't we skip the shower" she suggested, lust evident in her voice.

"Mhm" Stefan agreed not really focusing on what she was saying, but rather on what her mouth was doing.

Stefan dragged his rough hands down her side to rest on her hips before he squeezed when she found just the right spot on his neck. He let his hand go down further on her thighs before they stopped just behind her mid-thigh before he quickly lifted her legs up and wrapped them around his torso. Elena giggled as he felt his lips fall onto her own effectively swallowing the giggle.

Stefan made his way back to his bed as he carried Elena. They both fell onto the bed without breaking the kiss and Stefan had Elena pinned underneath her.

She felt his lips trail down her neck sucking hotly as he went. His hand roamed her body grabbing where ever he could, marking her as his.

Stefan's hands finally reached behind her back to the clasp of her bra gently prodding at it before her brought his lips back to hers.

Elena brought her legs to wrap around his waist as she pulled him closer feeling every line of his body up against hers.

Elena pulled away to whisper, "do it" before she was silenced against by a searing hot kiss as Stefan unclasped her bra and took it off, one strap at a time.

Stefan slowly grabbed the bra, took it off and threw it somewhere in the room without looking where it was going.

Stefan pulled back to see Elena in the dark, lit up by nothing more than just candles. Her hair was still wet and it was splayed out around her. Stefan thought she looked breathtaking. He finally looked over her entire body, drinking in her naked body. Stefan wasn't sure if he had ever seen anything nearly as beautiful as her. Elena slowly brought her hands up to cup his face before she whispered, "come here"

Stefan laid back down on top of Elena heeding her wishes as his hands went straight to her hips and hers went straight to his belt buckle.

Elena kissed his lips slowly, sucking on his bottom lip before biting down a little harshly as she undid his belt and removed his jeans.

He was left clad in his briefs before he pulled back to say a little playfully, "Just to clarify, you aren't a virgin right?" he asked.

Truth be told, Stefan was feeling things he had never felt before and he loved every second of it. Maybe, it was because he was finally making love to someone, instead of having sex.

"No, I'm not" she said breathlessly as she grabbed at his sides to completely bring his body up against hers; skin to skin.

"Good, because it sure doesn't feel like you are" Stefan said kissing her neck and shoulder.

"Hey, what was your first time like?" Stefan asked trying to see what she would do if he began to talk more and perform less.

"Are you going to keep talking or are you going to make love to me?" Elena asked getting a little frustrated with the amount of talking they were doing. She quickly rid him of his boxers leaving him completely bare for her to grope and feel.

"Make love, yes" Stefan said slowly taking off her panties, throwing them across the room.

Now that they were completely naked, Stefan rolled them over and under the covers before he finally connected their lips, picking up where they left off before he broke their concentration.

"Mmm" Elena moaned around his lips loving the way he felt.

Stefan pulled back to look her in the eyes before he bent down to whisper in her ear,

"Yes, we are going to make love. I love you, Elena" he said kissing her softly on her ear before her hands fell to his lower back massaging it before her lips fell on his chest, licking and kissing before she made her way up back to his lips to say, "I love you" with a smile on her face and the man she loved in bed, making love to her for the rest of the night.

**XXXXXXX**

That was a long chapter. And I am SO SORRY AHEAD OF TIME FOR THE TERRIBLE ATTEMPT AT AN INTIMATE SCENE. I KNOW IT WAS THEIR FIRST TIME AND I JUST, I APOLOGIZE, I CANNOT WRITE SMUT WHATSOEVER. I hope it was satisfactory though (: Leave a review letting me know what you think!


	19. Chapter 19

I am so sorry for not updating sooner! Things got crazy and I just had no time to write! I hope the last chapter was satisfactory though! We finally got to the next step in their relationship! I hope you guys are enjoying and thank you so much for the reviews (:

**XXXXXXXXX**

Love is one of those things where you don't know where it stems from. It creeps up on you and makes itself at home within the deepest corners of your being.

It fills you, warms you, excites you, pulls you, and it engulfs you. All you feel is your every nerve ending and you feel every fiber of your being beginning to glow with this love and affection you feel.

When you're with the _one, _you never want to leave their side. You want to make yourself home in the darkest corners of them and watch them light up. You want to allow yourself to feel them and you want to feel the deepest parts of you come alive.

You want to erase every trace of sadness and despair and you want to lift them up higher than the sky. You want to lift them up the way they lift you up.

So when you are lying in bed with _the one_, you don't want to leave. You want to feel each other molding into one. You want to feel every curve of their body pressed against your own. You want to hold them. You want to touch each inch of their skin and leave your searing mark. You want to show how much you love them.

The sun was shining outside the window as Stefan and Elena lay completely tangled in each other in the closest way possible.

Stefan was laying on back with a sleeping Elena laying on his chest with her hair making a dark curtain around her. Her hair tickled each part that it touched along Stefan's body and he could have sworn that he felt each and every individual strand. He loved it. He loved feeling so close to the woman he loved.

Her head was resting in the crook between his neck and shoulder and her deep breaths of sleep were being blown over his collarbone. He felt her naked chest rise and fall against his as she inhaled and exhaled.

Her arm was wrapped around his waist and her hand was intertwined with his, while his one leg was trapped between her two. Stefan's left arm came to wrap around her back and was resting on her lower back.

It was around 6:50am when Stefan first began to stir, as the sun felt nice against the part of his chest that wasn't covered by Elena's body.

When Stefan awoke, he brought his left hand that was resting on Elena's lower back, upwards as he began to drag his fingertips across her back making patterns and designs.

Elena was awoken by the tingling and burning sensation that could only be caused by Stefan's touch. She smiled against his chest before she moved and before she opened her eyes.

Stefan felt that beautiful smile against his chest and instantly, he knew she was awake.

Elena stretched along his chest as Stefan began rubbing circles on her back.

Stefan wrapped both his arms around Elena before he moved down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I love you" he whispered in her ear, in that sleepy morning voice that she loved.

Elena felt her heart swell up with happiness. He was amazing and she would not be getting any better than this.

She smiled to herself like a silly girl before grabbed his hand and intertwined them before she whispered back to him, "I love you"

Elena moved away to stretch on his bed away from his embrace, but that only made Stefan whine from the loss of contact.

He groaned and whined like a child who just got his toy taken away before he rolled over on top of Elena and let his head drop on her chest, reversing their previous position.

Elena laughed and smiled at his neediness as she buried her face into his hair before running her hand through it.

Her hand ran down the back of his neck and across to his shoulder where she gently massaged it.

"last night" she began a little quietly suddenly being embarrassed to talk about it.

Stefan couldn't help but have these flashbacks of the night before and how perfectly they fit together. They felt like they were finally together and they fit like a puzzle.

"was amazing" Stefan finished before he raised his head from her chest to look into her big brown eyes.

Elena slowly nodded agreeing with him as she stared into his eyes. God she loved him. She leaned forward capturing his lips into a good morning kiss.

Stefan moved so his body was on top of Elena's as the kiss grew and deepened in passion.

Elena ran her hand from his biceps up his shoulder up his neck, through his hair as she got a good grip in his bronze hair.

Elena bit down on his bottom lip dragging it into her mouth to slow down the growing passion. Stefan growled with lust before he opened his eyes to find Elena starting back at him with a growing smile on her face.

"Ow" Stefan said playfully when she let go of his lips. Elena giggled before she placed a kiss on his lips softly.

"Better?" She asked with a small smile playing on the corners of her lips.

"Much" he said kissing her forehead once before he rolled over on his back to lay beside her.

"When were you gonna tell me that you were a freak in the bed?" Stefan asked as he laughed when Elena hit him once against his chest, blushing from his compliment. Compliment, right? That is what it is, right? Elena thought.

"I'm not a freak" she mumbled as she hid her face in his chest.

"Don't go all shy on me now? After last night? What are you shy about?" Stefan asked not quite understanding why she was so shy.

"It's different talking about it, okay?" Elena said as she picked up her head, determined to end this conversation and her suffering.

"Babe, it isn't different! We had some pretty good sex! How many times was it? Three?" He asked with a cocky smile on his face.

"Stefan!" She yelled trying to scold him as she ducked underneath the covers.

Stefan laughed at how uncomfortable she was before he joined her underneath the covers. Elena had her back to him when he saw her.

"Come on, Lena. Last night was amazing. Definitely the best I ever had" he said winking at her, appeasing her a bit.

Elena smiled to herself still facing away from him. Was it really the best? She thought. That made her really happy, because she really enjoyed herself last night too.

Elena turned around slowly to face him. He had this million dollar smile plastered on his face when their eyes made contact.

"The best?" She whispered as she fought the smile that was beginning to form on her face.

"Well they always say making love is better than having sex" he said softly as he grabbed her hand and brought it up to kiss it softly.

"You really need to stop saying these things. You spoil me." She said thinking about how much he loved her and how he had a way with words.

"I wanna spoil you, you deserve it. I love you, Elena. I want you to remember that" he said making the conversation go serious all of a sudden.

"You've ruined me, you know? How is anyone else gonna compare?" Elena asked.

"Why are you thinking of anyone else but me?" Stefan asked playfully as he tackled her and began to place butterfly kisses along her neck.

Elena laughed and giggled at his playfulness this morning. She really loved this side of him and she wanted to wake up next to him more often.

"Stef-Stefa-Stefan" she got out as he began playfully kissing his way down her neck, her chest and to her stomach as he began to tickle her.

"Stefan stop it!" She giggled at him

"No" he said as he began blowing raspberries on her stomach

"Stefan stop it and get me some breakfast!" Elena got out before she grabbed him by the head and brought him up to kiss him as hard as she could. She kept on kissing him and kissing him until Stefan was the one who had to pull away breathless.

"What was that for?" Stefan asked breathlessly

"For making me feel special last night" she said before she pushed him off of her and got up out of bed to jump in the shower.

"Hey! You can't kiss me like that and then leave!" Stefan called out after her as she walked out of his room fully naked.

"Come and get me then!" She called to him from the bathroom where he heard her turn on the water.

"Good god" he groaned before he jumped out of bed butt naked to get his girl. Stefan was really lucky to have her in his life, and he wasn't going to let her go anytime soon.

**XXXXXXXX**

Katherine stood waiting on the street by the restaurant waiting for Stefan to make his appearance. It was just like him to come fashionably late, as he would call it.

She looked at her phone at it said that it was 7:09pm, so maybe Stefan was running 10 minutes late. No biggie, right?

Katherine turned around to look down the other side of the street only to see Stefan walking towards her with a big smile on his face once they saw each other.

"You're late!" She chastised when he came to stand in front of her with his hands in his pockets.

"10 minutes is nothing, Kat" Stefan said as he brought her in a hug and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Katherine rolled her eyes. She couldn't stay mad at this man even if she wanted to, he was just too precious.

"Get some food in me before I rip your head off" she said feigning annoyance, but Stefan knew better.

He just laughed and opened the door for her so she could step inside. They got led to their table by their waitress and they had just sat down before Katherine began speaking.

"So, 20 questions" Katherine stated because she knew Stefan knew exactly what she was talking about.

Stefan and Katherine had this thing where they play 20 questions when they haven't seen each other in a while. They love playing it and it always leads them to knowing everything they missed in each other's lives. They were best friends, after all.

"Alright, get started" Stefan said as he took a sip of his water.

"How are things with Elena?" she asked getting straight to the point

Stefan put his glass down and smiled at Katherine with a huge smile on his face. "Things are good" he said trying to suppress his bubbling love for that one girl.

"Just good?" Katherine asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, it's my turn, cheater" Stefan said. To that, Katherine just rolled her eyes. "So," Stefan began, "How are things with D" he asked.

"Better than expected, I love him" She stated with a smile on her face.

"Okay my turn. Why were you late?" Katherine asked with amusement

"I spent the day with Elena and then I had to go home to shower and stuff" he answered truthfully trying to fight back the smile that was forming on his face. Yes they spent the day together, and it was amazing.

"What's with the smile?" Katherine asked narrowing her eyes a little before the quickly widened.

"Oh my god you guys slept together!" She half yelled half whispered in excitement.

"What the fuck, how did you guess that?" Stefan asked incredulously. There was no way she could have known. He didn't even say anything to her! He hadn't even seen her since the dinner at his parent's last week.

"Stefan, you're my best friend. I know you inside out" she said nonchalantly as she flipped through the menu as she sipped on her water.

Stefan shook his head in disbelief, this woman was completely insane! But she was right, she did know him like no other.

"So, was it good?" Katherine asked

"It was amazing. So much better when you're in love with the person" Stefan said

"Believe me, I know" Katherine said with a soft smile.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It was around 9pm when Caroline and Elena finally got comfortable within the party.

Caroline was all about dancing and drinking as Elena found herself in Bonnie's presence just enjoying the night.

Truth was she was missing Stefan. But she was determined to have a good time even with the pounding headache she had. Elena wasn't drinking tonight so she was perfectly sober and so was Bonnie.

Tyler kept the party really small unlike his previous parties. There must have been 30 people, max, present. It was very intimate and it was personal. Elena loved smaller parties because she felt like she could get to meet everyone and mingle a whole lot more productively.

Of course, Jake was there. Elena saw him once when she walked in with Caroline and Bonnie. She let out a big sigh as she saw his ridiculously spiked hair that only reminded her that Stefan's was better.

She kept out of his way for the whole night, only bumping into him once in the kitchen when she went to go get a drink.

She didn't say anything to him but she felt his eyes burn a hole in her. He was just staring at her intensely and she couldn't shake the feeling she got with his intense gaze.

Elena and Bonnie were just talking about random things before Bonnie turned the subject to her and Jeremy.

"You know, Jeremy's birthday is coming up. What should I get him?" Bonnie asked.

"Get him a video game and he'll never break up with you" Elena joked around.

"I'm not getting him a video game. Maybe I'll take him shopping. He could use some nice clothes" Bonnie said feeling proud of her idea.

"Jeremy would never go shopping" Elena said with confidence. She knew her brother, he would never agree to anything like that.

"Oh yes he would. If he doesn't wanna be single, he will" Bonnie said with a smile.

Elena just laughed at her and her brother's relationship. They were both good for each other and they made each other happy. That's all that matters.

"So, how are thing going with Stefan? Or should I say Mr. Salvatore" Bonnie giggled.

"Things are going really good Bon. I mean, we said we love each other and we even took the next step in our relationship." She said knowing that Bonnie knew full well what she was talking about.

"Things are pretty serious. I'm glad. You needed something like this in your life" Bonnie commented.

Elena was about to speak but out of nowhere a tipsy Caroline came and plopped herself on her lap.

"Lena" she said.

"Hi Care, you okay?" She asked taking the glass out of her hand and handing it to Bonnie who put it on the table.

"I'm good! But did you know that I just kissed Tyler? I thought I should tell you guys!" she said looking at Bonnie and then Elena.

Bonnie and Elena shared a look before Elena spoke, "Are you guys back together?" She asked.

"No, but we want to work things out. Take things slow. I just want to be happy" Caroline said.

"Well then I'm happy for you" Bonnie said.

"Listen, my head is killing me so I am gonna go look for some space" Elena said getting up and depositing Elena beside Bonnie.

Elena got up and found herself walking up the stairs to find an empty room to just have some time to herself and get away from the music and the loud chatter, her head was pounding.

She walked into the first room on her right in a hallway of rooms and she found someone passed out in the room. She couldn't tell who it was so she took the throw off the back of the chair in the room and covered their body before she walked out and closed the door behind her.

She walked to another room that was empty and she saw that the room had door that opened to a terrace so she walked towards it and stepped out for some fresh air to clear her mind.

It wasn't like she was drunk, she just wanted to be alone and she wanted desperately to get rid of this raging headache.

She took her phone out and looked at the time; it was 9:30 so she decided to text Stefan. She really missed him because they had been spending so much time together now, it was almost impossible for them not to be in each other's presence.

Right before she was able to send the text she heard the door behind her shut close indicating that someone was in the room.

She walked off of the terrace and into the room to see Jake standing by the door with a beer in his hand.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" Elena asked not wanting to deal with Jake, much less a drunk version of him.

"I want to know what you get out of sleeping around with Salvatore" he spit out, anger present in his eyes.

Elena was a bit taken back by his question, but she didn't want to show it. No matter what happened, she didn't want to confirm what he was saying.

"Excuse me?" She said trying to sound strong and confident, but her nerves got the best of her and it came out a bit weak.

"You know exactly what I am talking about" he said using the same tone of voice as he set his beer down and began to walk towards Elena.

"Jake, you're drunk" Elena said with a bit more determination. She was not going to let this come between her and Stefan.

"I just don't know why you wouldn't give me another chance. I kept on thinking about it and thinking about it. I know I made a mistake but god fucking dammit everyone does! I am no worse or better than anyone in this house right now. I fucking treated you right and I fucking wanted to start over with you but you were having none of it. I didn't know why the fuck you turned me down or why you slapped me when I kissed you" he said with a bit more anger.

Jake was getting everything off his chest and this was making Elena a little uneasy. She didn't know where this conversation was going, but she knew very well where it could be going. She wanted nothing to do with this and last thing she wanted was to find herself in a threatening situation.

Jake just began again where he stopped, "But Salvatore was always there. He came like a knight in fucking armor and he 'saved' the day and took off with you. Why would he do that for any student? I see the way you look at him and the way you look at him. I saw you guys at detention and I know you guys are fucking each other." He finally revealed.

But before Elena could say anything Jake moved to grab Elena by the arms and threw her on the bed.

"Jake" she warned raising her voice a little when there was nothing but anger in his eyes.

Elena didn't know what to do so she decided to just talk and see where this could go. She knew Jake for a long time. He would never hurt her, would he?

"Jake I know you're hurt but you have to understand that you hurt me too. We broke up, I didn't want anything to do with you. I don't want to be with you and It isn't because I'm sleeping with Ste-Salvatore but it's because you are not worth my time." She finally got out before got up from the bed.

She didn't get anywhere very fast before Jake spun her around and had her pinned against the wall kissing her roughly with his hangs roaming and gripping wherever he could get his hands.

"You aren't going anywhere" he got out against her lips.

Elena tried pushing against his chest and tried breaking free because this wasn't what she wanted. She never wanted any of this. These weren't Stefan's hands, they weren't Stefan's lips.

Jake detached his lips from Elena as she shook her head back and forth trying to rip her lips away from his drunk ones. She couldn't believe this was happening and she only wished that someone would come looking for her.

His hands came under her top to grip at the skin on her stomach and it made her sick. Not too long away those were Stefan's hands.

"Jake stop" Elena said loudly hoping someone would hear her. She pushed him off of her but he quickly came back and pinned both her hands over her head effectively trapping her.

"What? Salvatore doesn't touch you like this?" Jake asked tauntingly as his lips moved down her neck.

But before Jake could reach her chest he was suddenly gone and he was being pushed across the room by Tyler.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing in my house?" Tyler shouted at Jake before he punched him once making him fall to the ground holding his own jaw.

Tyler moved around to Elena who was now sitting on the floor sobbing with her head in her hands. Tyler bent down to Elena before he moved her hands from her face.

"Elena, are you okay?" He asked gently before he heard Jake getting up.

Before Tyler could turn around to Jake, in came Bonnie and Caroline through the door who quickly ran to Elena.

"Elena!" They both said at the same time.

"Get her out of here, I'm gonna deal with him" Tyler said motioning to a fuming Jake standing behind him.

Jake quickly walked to Tyler pushing him against the wall before they both broke out into a brawl. Punching, grabbing and pushing. Someone was going to get hurt tonight.

Caroline and Bonnie got Elena and went downstairs to sit in the living room with Elena as she cried and sat in between the two.

Upstairs she could still hear the fighting and she was sick to her stomach. All she wanted was Stefan. She wanted to be curled up next to him and she wanted to be in his bed with him holding her, comforting her.

"Call Stef" Elena got out in choked sobs. Caroline nodded and left the room leaving her and Bonnie in the room.

Caroline went outside the house and scrolled through the phone finding Stefan's number. It rang once and twice before a bubbly, laughing voice picking up the phone.

"Hello" Stefan said cheerily as Caroline heard Katherine in the background.

"Stefan, it's me Caroline. Elena, she needs you right now. It was Jake"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Eventful chapter! I hope you liked it and leave a review! Thanks so much!


	20. Chapter 20

A bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter! I got a various amount of reviews ranging from anger to excitement! I hope you enjoy the 20th chapter!

**XXXXXXXXX**

Stefan was fuming as soon as he heard the words leave Caroline's mouth. Before he could even register what was going on, he pulled Katherine by the hand, back to the car.

"Stefan, what's wrong?" Katherine asked as she opened the door and climbed into his car.

They had been on a walk after their dinner and they were enjoying themselves until Caroline called.

"Elena needs me" he said simply as he drove off a bit faster than usual. Stefan was mad and he didn't know what to do. How dare Jake even try to touch Elena? Did he not get it when Stefan had asked him to stay away from Elena?

"Okay, so what happened? Is she hurt? Is she okay?" Katherine asked trying to gage how serious the situation was and trying to be the rational person.

Stefan tightened his grip on the steering wheel before he spoke, "Apparently Jake tried to force himself on Elena at the party tonight." He said through clenched teeth and a tight jaw.

"What?" Katherine said as an instinctual reaction. Stefan had filled Katherine in on everything that had happened between him, Elena and Jake during their dinner.

"I swear to god if I get my hands on him" Stefan said focusing on where he was going; Tyler's house.

"Oh I'm with you on that one!" Katherine said looking back at the road. She would never condone anything that wasn't consensual. How dare he even try and do anything against Elena's will? Not to mention to Stefan's girlfriend. If she meant a lot to Stefan, then she meant a lot to Katherine, simple as that.

"Apparently Tyler already handled him" Stefan remarked.

"You know what, that's a good thing because there is no need for you to swoop in there and jeopardize your building career by getting into a fight with a student. Focus on Elena and get out of there" Katherine said calmly and rationally.

Stefan just let out a deep breath and remained silent. Katherine was right, but he certainly didn't want to just leave it alone.

**XXXXXXXX**

Tyler just pushed Jake away and watched him hit the floor. He didn't want to fight him, and he most certainly didn't want to waste his time. He would just kick him out and make him leave his house.

"Get out of my house" Tyler said, strangely, in a soft and calm voice as if to tone down the atmosphere.

Jake grunted as he got up off the ground and walked down the stairs. As he walked down the stairs he looked around and saw Elena sitting on the couch with a blank look on her face. Caroline was sitting on her side shooting him daggers, same with Bonnie. He was surprised Bonnie was giving him looks as well. She wasn't the one to hold grudges or be mad like Caroline. But he knew that he messed up so he quickly got out of the house.

Tyler was right behind him making sure he was out of his house. When both of them got outside, Stefan and Katherine pulled up to Tyler's house.

Tyler looked at the car with confusion, he didn't recognize the car but he didn't really care. He just wanted Jake and his drunk ass off his property.

Stefan put the car in park as his eyes fell on Jake. Stefan was fuming, and all he wanted to do was pound that kid in. But from the bloody nose and swollen lip, looks like Tyler covered it.

Stefan put his hand on the door ready to jump out before Katherine locked the door making sure he couldn't get it.

"Don't you dare move your fucking ass" Katherine said eyeing Jake up and down as he began to walk away from the house.

"Katherine I'm not sitting in here" Stefan reasoned.

"Did you not hear me? I said stay in here. I don't care if you're a teacher or a student teacher, those are your kids in there and last time I checked you wanted to keep your relationship a secret. So shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down and I will go get Elena." Katherine said looking at Stefan.

Stefan's anger subsided a little. Katherine was right, he didn't want to expose their relationship. But he didn't trust himself with Jake walking home.

"Okay" Stefan said quietly.

Katherine reached for his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It'll be okay. Stay here and I'll be right back with your little girlfriend" Katherine said warmly and softly.

Right when Katherine got out of the car, Jake was walking by and he eyed Katherine up and down.

"Who are you?" Jake asked with a look of wonder in his eyes. No doubt he thought Katherine was hot, because she really was.

"Not interested, fuck nut" she said as she walked away from him leaving him with the signature Katherine sass.

Jake just watched her walk away as he turned around and began walking home. As he passed Stefan's car he turned to look and noticed Stefan sitting behind the wheel.

Stefan felt the anger boil in his blood but he focused on Elena and he tore the deadly gaze away from his sick eyes. He needed to be there for Elena right now and not for some punk who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Jake recognized Stefan and it confirmed everything he was spewing out at Elena earlier. There is no other reason he would be here. Jake let out a breath and walked away. Stefan focused on Katherine as she disappeared into the house.

Inside, Katherine was first greeted by Tyler, before she got a chance to see Elena, or anyone else.

"I'm here for Elena" Katherine said in the most courteous tone she could manage without sounding fake.

"Uh, yeah, this way" Tyler said completely enraptured with her presence. Katherine never failed to make anyone swoon, she was gorgeous.

Katherine followed Tyler a short way until she finally saw Elena curled up in ball leaning against a blonde's side. Katherine had to admit that her heart broke a little when she saw Elena. She was no longer crying but you could tell that she had been; her eyes were red and puffy. She was breathing slowly and she was clutching onto her phone as if she was waiting for a call. Her other hand was holding onto the blonde's arm as the blonde's arm came to rest around her shoulders.

Elena didn't deserve any of this, Katherine thought. She was a sweet girl with a good head on her shoulders and she loved Stefan a lot. Katherine had grown quite fond of Elena and seeing her like this actually hurt Katherine a bit.

Katherine walked on over to where Elena was sitting and put her hand on her shoulder, while bending down on her knees.

"Hey there" Katherine said softly with a smile on her face. Elena moved from Caroline's side to give Katherine a small hug. Elena knew that if Katherine was here, that meant Stefan was here too.

"Hi, where's…" Elena trailed off looking around the house for any signs of Stefan.

"Come on, let's get you out of here. He's waiting outside." Katherine said.

Caroline and Bonnie looked at each other before deciding that they should let her take Elena. Katherine turned to Caroline and Bonnie, "Thanks, I'm Katherine. One of Stefan's friends, I'll take it from here." She said in a surprisingly sweet tone.

Katherine took off her leather jacket and swung it over Elena's bare shoulders as she grabbed her hand and brought her outside to the car.

Stefan's eyes quickly flashed to the two emerging from the house. Katherine had Elena's hand in her own and Stefan internally thanked her. What would Stefan even do without Katherine? She was such a great friend.

But Stefan had to wait until he was sure everyone was inside the house before he jumped out of his car and jogged over to them.

Elena saw Stefan and let go of Katherine's and jogged as well to meet him halfway. Elena's soft body collided with his hard one before Stefan quickly wrapped her up in his arms. Elena clung onto his body tightly as Stefan stroked her hair and kissed her head. Katherine moved to go sit in the car after she rubbed Stefan's arm, to which Stefan gave her a smile and nod to indicate that he was thankful.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked when he heard a muffled sob against his chest. Elena nodded her head, "Mhm, I'm good now" Elena said in a strangled voice as she hugged onto Stefan tighter, not wanting to let him go.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to kiss him, I don't know what happened, I tried to stop him" Elena said starting to ramble on.

This baffled Stefan. Here she was, the victim, and she was apologizing. Typical Elena: the selfless one, who would rather take everything upon herself, than blame someone.

"No, you don't need to be sorry. Come on, let's get you home" Stefan said bringing Elena to the car.

When Stefan got to the car, he noticed that Katherine was sitting in the driver's side. Stefan was confused but he made his way to the back of the car and opened the backseat door so both Elena and Stefan could climb in.

Elena quickly scrambled across the seat before Stefan had even closed the door and made herself comfortable on his lap, in his embrace, needing the comfort at this very moment.

"Can we go to your place?" Elena mumbled against the skin of Stefan's neck.

"Yeah, of course, Are you sure you don't wanna go home though?" Stefan asked as he stroked her hair all the way down to her lower back.

"No, not tonight" Elena said with a quiet voice before she began again, "Katherine, take me to Stefan's" she said directing her voice at her.

"Of course babe" Katherine responded.

**XXXXXXXX**

It was now midnight and Elena was tucked away in Stefan's bed playing with his fingers as she lay her head against his chest.

"If I see that punk at school, Elena…" Stefan said trailing off still cooling off from his anger. Elena raised her head off his chest and placed her hand on his face.

"No, Stefan. You aren't going to do anything. I think he knows about us… he asked me if we were…fucking" Elena said the last word softly as if she was ashamed of something.

"Well, we sorta are" Stefan said with a playful tone as he winked at Elena trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

"I'm serious Stefan, let it be, please? For me?" Elena asked him wanting to make sure that they wouldn't be dragged into a silly web of things they didn't need. They did not deserve to have their relationship dragged through the shit that Jake had orchestrated. This was exactly what he wanted, and no, he wouldn't get it.

Stefan took a deep breath in as if preparing to fight her on this. "He forced himself on you, Elena" he said just above a whisper.

Elena looked into his eyes and she could practically see the hurt and anger playing around in his green orbs.

"I know, but he isn't worth it. And Tyler got there before he could do anything to really hurt me" Elena said trying to reason with her boyfriend.

Stefan let out a breath and just nodded, "okay" he said as he pulled Elena back down to rest on his chest.

"Why don't you get some sleep now, huh?" Stefan offered as he kissed her head.

"I don't know if I can" Elena said truthfully. Yes, she was tired, but she just couldn't get herself to fall asleep.

Right before Stefan could say anything he heard a door shut before Damon walked by their room with Nik.

Damon stopped by Stefan's room to check on Elena, "Hey there little Miss. Gilbert" Damon teased, "How are you doing?" he asked trying not to make much of the situation; typical Damon.

"I'm okay now, thanks Damon" Elena said genuinely as she gave him a small smile. Nik was still standing by the door scratching the back of his head like a child.

Stefan just laughed a bit, "You can come in if you want, Nik" Stefan said trying to get him stop acting like he was a 6 year old who just got in trouble.

Nik just laughed and to be honest, it made Elena swoon just a bit. Even his laugh had a hint of his accent in it. It was adorable.

"I trust you are doing well, my dear" Nik asked when he walked into the room to stand by Damon.

"Yes, I'm well Nik, thanks" Elena said smiling at him. She hadn't talked to Nik much. She met him a few times here and there but she never really got to know him.

"Well, if you need anything, let me know. Even if you want a certain someone in the hospital, without risking my mate's job" Nik teased in his British accent.

"Thanks, but no thanks" Elena said with a fake laugh. Stefan beside her just laughed.

"Where's Katherine?" Elena asked feeling the need to thank her for tonight. If Stefan had come alone, things might have gotten complicated.

"Right here" came a voice as she walked into the room to stand beside Damon as she looped her arm through his and kissed his cheek.

Damon and Nik left the room feeling like the room was getting overcrowded, so they went to sit on the couch and drink a beer.

"I wanted to thank you, for tonight" Elena said looking up at Katherine as she came around the bed and sat down.

Stefan watched them interact carefully, in silence. It meant the world to him that his two favorite girls in his life could get along.

Katherine grabbed Elena's hand as she gave her a tight squeeze, "No problem. I want you to know that with you being in a relationship with that one over there" she nodded towards Stefan "it means that I care about you and I want nothing but the best for you" Katherine said.

Elena nodded and for the first time, she felt like she understood Katherine, and it was heartwarming. "Thanks" Elena said simply.

"Why don't you two get some sleep now. Damon and I are gonna get outta here" Katherine said as she got up and walked out the door.

Elena turned to Stefan slowly to try and see what his reaction would be. "Did you know that Katherine felt that way?" Elena asked as she made herself comfortable again against his hard body.

"When she offered to go in and get you herself, I knew then" Stefan said.

Elena nodded and let out a yawn, "I'm glad. I like Kat, she's nice and she makes Damon happy" Elena said.

"Yeah, but you know what makes me happy?" Stefan asked as he pulled her closer so she was laying on top of his chest.

Elena shook her head no, trying to play along with Stefan. After what had happened today, it looks like she needed it.

"You" Stefan said as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against her slowly as his hands came to rest on her hips.

He pecked her once, twice, and three times before she deepened the kiss by sucking his bottom lip into her mouth. Stefan grunted lowly at the feeling before he felt Elena's tongue push its way through his mouth searching for his.

They laid there for about ten minutes just kissing and feeling each other because if today had showed them anything, it was that they were really happy to have each other.

"I love you" Elena said before she placed another kiss on his lips and laid her head down on his chest finally feeling sleepy.

"I love you too, beautiful" Stefan said as he wrapped his arms around Elena and hugged her closer to his body as they both drifted off to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXX**

_Dear Mr. Polinsky, Principal of Mystic High, _

_It has come to my attention that one of your faculty members has formed an illegal relationship with one of your students. Stefan Salvatore, the student teacher for Alaric Saltzman has been seeing a student for the past 3 months and is making no notion to dismiss this relationship. For confidentiality reasons, I will not disclose the name of the student. However, I hope you take into account this newly provided information and quickly deal with it in the most appropriate way. Thank you._

_-Anonymous._

**XXXXXXXXX**

Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter and let me know what you think of the letter at the end! Who wrote it? I think it is a bit obvious, but let us see what happens when the letter is delivered! I want to point out that this story now does have a cover image! Thanks so much to tvdgalaxy on instagram for making that edit for me! You guys should definitely give her a follow! Leave a review! Thanks!


	21. Chapter 21

I hope you enjoy this! Leave a review (:

**XXXXXXXX**

A week had passed since Tyler's party and things seemed like they were going smooth. Things were getting back to normal. Jake hadn't been to school in the past week and things were going around saying he moved away again. But of course, no one knew anything, especially Stefan and Elena.

It was Thursday and Stefan was looking forward to the weekend because he could finally spend some time with Elena. After last weekend she hadn't really spent a lot of time with him and this school week was even busier. November was over and in about a week they would be off for the holidays. Exam time is looming and there has been work upon work handed to the kids. They will begin applying to colleges and universities in January so everyone is working extra hard to scrounge up marks wherever they could.

Stefan sat in the staff room with his coffee reading through a couple of emails. His placement with Mystic High was going to end with this school year and then he would be moving forward. It kind of worried him because he had no idea what Elena was going to do. He knew she wanted to apply to several schools and focus on journalism and literary studies. But where she would go to school, he had yet to figure out, along with Elena.

The door swung open and in popped Mr. Polinsky with a rolled up piece of paper in his hands.

Mr. Polinksy was a young man, not much older than Alaric, with impeccable style. He had a full head of hair and was quite handsome.

"Stefan, I'd like to see you in my office, please" He said before he walked out without even making full eye contact for more than 10 seconds.

Stefan didn't think much of it as he stood up and followed him out of the staff room. Stefan was good in the school and he made a good addition. The kids liked him and Alaric had no complaints, so this led him to wonder why he had been summoned to his office.

Stefan walked in to the main office and followed Mr. Polinsky into his personal office.

"Close the door behind you" he said as he sat down and made himself comfortable in his own office. Stefan looked around a bit; the office was paneled with wood and there was a shelf full of books that looked incredibly old. There was a frame on his desk of who he assumed to be his family.

"Please, have a seat Stefan" Polinsky said as he motioned to one of the two chairs that faced his huge mahogany desk.

Stefan sat down and nodded his thanks as he began to speak, "Mr. Polinsky, is there anything I could do for you?" Stefan asked being courteous.

"Please, call me John, and yes there actually is. Care to explain this?" He said ad he picked up an envelope off his desk and took out a piece of paper as he handed it to Stefan.

Stefan, not knowing what the piece of paper was, took the piece of paper out of his hands. He took a deep breath and began to read.

Halfway through the letter, Stefan let out a silent gasp that John couldn't hear. This could not be happening. The letter was an _anonymous tip_ exposing his relationship with someone, the letter hadn't stated who.

What was he supposed to do? Play it off? Own up to it? He didn't know. He pretended to re-read it a second time before he tore his eyes off of the piece of paper and nodded as he looked up at John.

John raised an eyebrow at him and cocked his head to the side asking him to explain the letter that he held in his hands.

Stefan let out a shaky laugh to break the ice, "I, to be honest, don't know what this letter is talking about. I am very much single" Stefan said laughing again.

John let out a little chuckle before he began speaking. "Stefan, that wasn't the only thing that came in the envelope" he said reaching into the envelope and pulling out a picture. He handed the picture to Stefan for him to look at.

Stefan examined the picture and it was a picture of him and Elena on their date the night they had said they loved each other for the very first time.

Elena's face was hidden in the crook of Stefan's neck but you could clearly see that it was her. Her hair was pin straight and she had on the leather jacket that she wore all the time in the fall. It was evident that it was Elena Gilbert.

He flipped the picture over to find a hand written note, "_I think you can figure for yourself, who exactly this girl is (EG)" _

Stefan let out a deep sigh and he set the photo down and ran his hand over his face in exasperation. He clearly could not play this one off. What would happen if he just accepted it? Would they fire him? I mean, Stefan had done his research, and although it was legal, it was a breach in rules and regulation of the school board.

"Stefan, listen…It doesn't matter if you own up to this or not, but you and I both know that that girl in that picture is Elena Gilbert." John said matter-of-factly.

"I won't deny it, not when everything is already in the open like it is, and I wouldn't disrespect her like that." Stefan said in a strong voice, his business demeanor taking over as he fell into the professional role he knew only too well.

"This would lead to you being fired, and in return affecting your teaching school placement which would render you pretty close to impossible in terms of getting a job in the future. Schools would not even look at you, I'm afraid" John said as if he was genuinely sad and worried about Stefan.

Stefan nodded his head understanding everything that was coming out of John's mouth. He could lose everything. But he wouldn't lose Elena. He was sure of that because he would try his hardest to make sure that would not happen.

"And Elena?" Stefan asked before he even spoke a single word about his own reputation and future.

John was taken a bit back by his question. He was not anticipating that Stefan would take such a selfless approach to the entire situation.

"Elena will obviously not be held accountable in any way possible. You are the faculty member in this case and you will be held accountable. How it affects Elena in a personal way, I could not say" John said eyeing Stefan carefully.

"Good" Stefan said, not knowing what else to say in this situation. He wasn't expecting this to happen and he already knew who the anonymous tip was. He wasn't stupid, he knew who would do such a thing. What made him even angrier was the fact that that low life jerk had creeped on them and took pictures of them while they were on their date. The night they had said I love you to each other was so important to him and now it was tainted by the antics of Jake.

"Stefan, that is all that _could_ happen" John said looking at him with his hands on his desk and his eyes searching his own for understanding of his statement.

"I don't think…" Stefan said trailing off waiting for Mr. Polinsky to interject and say something to make it clearer.

"Stefan, I'm not going to let any of that happen to you. After being friends with your father and after everything that he has done for me, I don't think it would be fair to him, if I had let this happen" John said carefully making sure Stefan took in every word.

Stefan sat there a little confused. Who DOESN'T his father know, for crying out loud? Would he keep his placement? Would he still be fired, but not reported to the board? All these questions were going through his head and he hadn't a single answer to any of them.

"So? What does that mean for me?" Stefan said looking up at John waiting for his answer.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"Bubbles let go of my shoe" Damon said chasing this tiny dog around his apartment. How on earth was this dog carrying around his shoe? He was only a tad bigger than the shoe itself.

Damon let out a breath as he had Bubbles cornered between the wall and his book shelf as he slowly came forward as Bubbles let the shoe go to stick his tongue out and waddle his tail as he was breathing at Damon. Bubbles looked up at him with the most innocent puppy dog eyes he had ever seen.

"Oh don't you go giving me those puppy eyes, I need my shoe, I'm gonna be late" Damon said reaching to grab the shoe but Bubbles quickly picked it up and ran in between his legs and down the hall towards his, no,_ their_ room.

Katherine came out of the room when she heard Bubbles whining and running around the hall. Katherine came out with her hair in a bun and an oversized sweater that read, _SALVATORE_ on the back indicating that it was Damon's football sweater from his high school days.

"Damon, what are you doing" Katherine said coming to stand in front of him as he bent over trying to see where Bubbles had run off when he went down the hall.

"Trying to get my goddamn shoe from that god forsaken dog of yours" Damon said resentfully as he plastered a fake smile on his face.

Katherine just laughed at his fakeness of his smile as she leaned forward to pinch his cheeks before laying a kiss on his cheek.

"I'll get it for you" She said simply before she turned around to see Bubbles curled up around Damon's shoe at the end of the hall.

"Bubbles, baby, come give the shoe to mommy" Katherine said as she bent down on her knees about a foot away from him holding out her hand.

"Come on baby" she said again still holding out her hand. Bubbles whined and picked up the shoe and gave it to Katherine as he came and licked her other hand that rested on the floor keeping her balance.

"That's my good baby, come on, I'll take my little baby for a walk" Katherine said standing back up with Bubbled in her arms as she laid kisses all over its head and scratched behind his little ear.

She got to Damon and she chucked the shoe at him, "Here" she said nonchalantly as she walked away in search for his leash.

"Hmph" Damon grumbled as he cleaned his shoe with a cloth and put it on. He walked to the door and he saw Katherine bending over to put Bubbles' leash on.

He walked on over to Katherine before he stood behind her and rubbed her nice ass through her tights. "Mmmm, I like this ass quite a bit. Can I have some?" Damon said trying to ooze some seduction into his voice.

"You did have some last night. Four times to be exact" Katherine said with a smile as she remembered what they did last night.

"You were counting?" Damon said as he wrapped his arms around Katherine when she stood back up. Damon loved spending time with her and last night was quite the night.

"Yes I was counting. Hard not to" Katherine said more quietly trying not to blow up his ego that was clearly on the rise.

Damon let out a chuckle as he kissed her neck and let her go, "I like that sweater on you. Can I take it off later? After lunch with Steffy Poo of course" Damon said.

"You can take anything you want off" Katherine said with a wink before she turned around and placed a kiss on his lips.

"I'll be back in an hour or so, love you" she said before she went out the door leaving a very impatient Damon in the doorway.

"Love you" he called out behind her.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"So then he told me that that was what he COULD let happen to me, and to my future" Stefan explained.

Damon sat across from him with a serious expression on his face. Damon was his older brother and Stefan had come to him for support and in that moment, he needed to be the caring older brother, not the sarcastic one.

"What did he mean about that?" Damon said with a snark. He clearly wasn't having any of this bullshit.

"He wasn't going to let any of that happen to me so instead, he is going to give me a transfer notice, and not report it to the board. He's going to have me transferred to Chersley High up in Cherishwood." Stefan explained with sadness in his voice.

"Cherishwood? That's two hours north of us. He's sending you that far?" Damon asked with irritation.

"Damon, It's better than being fired, and being reported to the board. I mean, he is already doing me a favor." Stefan reasoned.

"You're gonna have to move, buy a new place, and live out there on your own. Have you said yes yet?" Damon said finally backing down a bit with his anger.

"I didn't have a choice, D" Stefan said quietly already realizing what this meant. He was completely broken on the inside. He had to leave Mystic Falls, which meant he had to leave Elena; the girl he loved. Long distance relationships could work, but it would be hard with Elena still in high school and so much added pressure from her senior year. It was a tough decision, but a necessary one.

Damon let out a big breath, "Well, what are you gonna do now?" Damon asked looking up at his little brother and the torn expression on his face.

"Now, I tell Elena" he stated simply.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Sorry for the late update! Things got hectic and I had no time to write but I do hope that you guys enjoyed this update! Leave a review letting me know what you think! What do you think of LDR's?! Thanks!


	22. Chapter 22

I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter! I am so thankful for all the reviews you guys leave me and I read each one! So thank you for the positive feedback. This is just a little filler chapter with some SE fluff!

**XXXXXXXXX**

Elena sat on the dock by the lake with a hot cup of coffee in her hand. It was now the first week of December and it had begun to get a bit cold. She wore a jacket, a scarf and a pair of knee high leather boots upon her feet. She sat there waiting for Stefan. She hadn't seen him all day Friday because he said that he was busy with his family but it was now Saturday morning and she was missing him terribly. He wasn't even at school on Friday but she quickly dismissed any concerns when she got a text from him saying that he was with his father.

She sat there looking out at the water feeling the rays of sun on her face before she heard a car door shut behind her. She didn't turn around as she waited for him to get closer to her.

"Elena" she heard a soft voice call out. She turned around and she saw Stefan walking towards her with his hands in his pockets. He looked like a model for a winter catalogue. He wore a black trench coat, paired with khaki pants and a little toque that was resting fashionably upon the back of his head, not messing up his perfect hair.

Her breath caught a little at the sight of him. She couldn't believe that he was all hers and that the man that was standing before her, loved her just as much as she loved him.

She got up and walked on over to him with a small smile playing on her lips. As she met him halfway on the dock, she grabbed the sides of his body and tugged him closer until their bodies collided.

"Hi" she whispered before she got on her tippy toes to place a soft kiss on his perfect lips. She could taste the mint gum he had just chewed and she could smell his aftershave. She pulled back a little to nuzzle her face with his.

"I missed you" she whispered as Stefan brought his hands up around her and held her as tight as he could.

Truth is, Stefan was dreading the moment that he would tell Elena all that had happened, and all that had yet to happen. He was nervous because he didn't know how she would react. So he just held her in his arms not wanting to let go, ever.

"I missed you too" he said in a sad voice as he nuzzled her nose and placed a kiss wherever his lips could reach.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she pulled back to see Stefan's eyes closed. Stefan opened his eyes and there was sadness all over his perfect green eyes.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Elena asked again as she brought a hand up to cup his cheek.

"I uh, need to talk to you about something" Stefan said getting out of her embrace and moving to grab just her hand to walk over the bench bolted at the end of the dock.

"Okay" Elena said not knowing what to expect Stefan to say. She followed him and sat down by his side when he sat down.

Stefan turned around to face her without letting go of the hold he hand on her hand. He needed to be close to her right now.

"Stefan, talk to me" Elena said noticing the hesitation in his eyes before he looked away trying to recollect his thoughts for a bit.

"Elena I got a transfer to another school" he said bluntly trying not to make this any harder than it already was. He got straight to the point because he didn't have it in him to play around with Elena.

"Oh" Elena said with a bit of hesitation before she squeezed his hand and spoke again, "Where?" she asked in a tone where it was hard to decipher her emotion.

"Cherishwood, just up North of here" Stefan said looking into her eyes to try and see any type of emotion she may be displaying.

Elena took in this new piece of information and processed it. Stefan would be leaving, and it would be two hours away. She knew people had it worse than her, but in that moment, she allowed herself to be selfish.

She didn't want him to leave. She didn't know what she would do without him. Sure they could see each other every weekend but she needed to feel close to him. She didn't know what to expect out of this new move. She wanted to keep him here forever. Even though she knew that eventually he would have to leave, it was only a matter of time. He would be done his placement.

"Elena, say something" Stefan said just above a whisper when he saw a stray tear running down her cheek. He quickly moved to kiss the tear away, letting his lips linger close to her face.

Elena quickly broke out of her little thought bubble. She hadn't even realized she was crying until Stefan wiped away the tears.

"That's two hours away. There was no other school?" Elena asked quickly composing herself and allowing herself to hide what she was feeling. They needed to talk this through; she could have time later to cry if she wanted to.

Stefan looked out at the water for a second, wondering if he should tell her the real reason why he was getting transferred. He turned back to Elena deciding that honesty is the best policy and that he was not going to build a relationship on lies.

"You're not gonna ask me why they decided to move me?" Stefan said looking at Elena carefully trying to study her.

"What? Your placement with Mystic Falls isn't over, then?" Elena asked with honest confusion. She really had thought that his time was up.

"No, not exactly" Stefan said looking down at his hands before looking up at her with his brows furrowed.

Elena looked at Stefan curiously wanting him to continue and to explain to her why this was happening. Why he was moving two hours away from her and why he wouldn't be there to hold her when she needed him, and why he would now be a phone call away, instead of 15 minutes.

"Administration at Mystic High got a note from an _anonymous _tip, Elena" Stefan said trying to hide his anger and rage that flowed through him whenever he thought about that little fucking prick.

"An anonymous tip saying what" Elena said with a quiet powerful voice once she put two and two together.

Stefan let out a deep breath before letting go of her hand and moving to fall deeper into the bench, throwing his head back.

"Stefan" she said in a louder voice as she pushed his arm trying to get his attention back.

"What did the tip say?" Elena asked once again.

"About our relationship, Elena. It said everything we didn't want them to know, including a picture. Now Mr. Polinsky is doing me a favor here, Elena. He could report me to the board have my placement terminated and then make sure I never got a job ever again. But he's doing this for me. He isn't going to report me to the board so long as I follow through with this transfer" Stefan said fully explaining the entire situation to her.

Elena let the entire situation hit her like a ton of bricks. She let her shoulders slump and her head sag. She was incredibly grateful that Mr. Polinsky was doing this for him but at the same time she was torn; torn between killing Jake and thanking Polinsky.

Even though Elena already knew, she just needed to hear it from Stefan. "This was Jake, wasn't it?" Elena asked through a clenched jaw.

"Yes. But I don't want you doing anything. Let it go, Elena." Stefan said surprising both Elena and himself with his words.

"So what do we do now?" Elena asked in a small voice.

"Well, Nik's family lives up in Cherishwood. I think we're gonna stay with them for a week before I find my own place out there." Stefan said slowly.

"You're really leaving?" Elena asked in a small voice trying to force back the tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

Stefan moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her as he buried his face into her hair. He allowed her to cry and let it all out. Elena gripped his back tightly not wanting to let go.

They had no idea how long they were sitting like that, wrapped up in each other's arms just letting them feel.

Elena was the first one to pull away to look him in the eyes. She gave Stefan a small little smile before she spoke, "So when do we get to go apartment hunting?" she asked in a tiny little voice.

Stefan just laughed before he cupped her face in both of his hands and leaned down to kiss her hard and passionately on her lips. He needed her to know that this would not change anything and that he loved her so much. He kept kissing, and kissing and kissing until Elena pulled away breathlessly.

"I love you" Stefan said before he began kissing her face softly before trailing his lips down to her neck until he was met with her scarf that was blocking his way.

Stefan let out small little whine at the roadblock, that made Elena giggle. "But I hate this scarf" he said trying to get it off of her so he could continue the hot trail of kisses he was leaving in his wake.

As soon as he got the scarf off his lips attached back onto her neck. Her hands came to rest on his head, knocking off his perfectly placed toque, before she breathlessly whispered how much she loved him in his ear.

"Stefan stop" Elena said when she realized that he had no intention of stopping. He was fingering her jacket zipper fully intending to take it off.

Stefan let his forehead rest on her shoulder as she pulled her hands through his hair. They stayed like that for five minutes before Elena spoke again.

"What are you gonna be doing tonight?" Elena asked curiously.

"You" he said simply as he began to finger her zipper again. Elena giggled and swatted his hand away before he could pull it down.

"Stefan. I'm serious" Elena said feigning annoyance.

"So am I. Tonight I wanna show you just how much I love you. Over and over and over" Stefan said as he sucked hotly on her neck. It was quite the contrast. The cool wind of winter and the hot temperature from the way her body was responding to Stefan. She almost forgot it was winter.

"Okay" she managed to say as his hands went under her jacket to grab at the skin of her hips, massaging them slowly in his hands.

"Okay lets go" Elena said trying to remove Stefan's hands so they could get up and leave. She really wanted to see just how much Stefan loved her.

"Impatient, are we?" Stefan teased trying to lighten to mood. Knowing what they would be facing in two weeks time, they needed this right now.

"Are you complaining?" Elena asked leading the way to his car as she half ran half walked with his hand in her hand as she tugged him to his car.

"Not one bit" Stefan said as they reached the car.

**XXXXXXXXX**

A week later Katherine was standing in Stefan's living room yelling at him so loud, he was sure his neighbors would call the cops on him.

"Who the FUCK was going to tell me huh?" Katherine bellowed as she stood in her heels and dress before Stefan.

She and Damon were supposed to be going out for dinner tonight but instead she was standing in Stefan's living room yelling at him.

"I was gonna tell you" Stefan said silently with his head lowered, his gaze on her nude heels she was wearing upon her feet.

"Yeah? When? When you were fucking two hours away from here?" Katherine said with rage. She had her little rage vein popping out of her forehead and with that, Stefan knew she was REALLY angry.

"Katherine I know you're mad but I wanted to make sure that I had all the information I needed before I told everyone else" Stefan reasoned

"I am NOT everyone else to you Stefan. How could you not tell me? Don't you think I deserve to know? You're leaving for crying out loud. How could you think this wouldn't matter to me?" Katherine said as she held her finger out at him.

"Kat, I'm sorry. But this hasn't been easy" Stefan said choosing his words carefully at this point. He knew he didn't want to get Katherine upset.

"You can say sorry when you're up in Cherishwood" Katherine said bitterly before she turned around and stormed out of his apartment.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Another week later he was standing in the apartment that would be his. He was standing with Nik and Elena. Nik was more than happy to move closer to his family and he was more than understanding.

Even Elena had been understanding, she knew this wasn't goodbye. It was only a matter of time before his placement would end and then he would have to be going to Cherish Wood High.

Stefan and Elena stood in front of his room window with her back towards him and his arms around her waist.

"Can't wait until our first night in here" Stefan said absentmindedly as he was inhaling the smell of her perfect vanilla and honey hibiscus shampoo, paired with her perfume that drove him wild.

"Hmm, are you nervous to be going into a new school next week?" She asked as she grabbed his hand and placed a kiss on it.

"A bit, I mean, teenagers aren't easy to get on your side" he said with a chuckle.

"Didn't take much with me" she pointed out with a smile on her face. It was true, she had fallen for Stefan faster than she liked to admit.

"Yeah but then again, it wasn't just you who fell for me. I fell pretty hard too" he said quietly as he kissed her temple from behind her.

"I know, have you seen me? It's hard not to" Elena teased as she swayed them slowly side to side.

"I remember when I first saw you. You dropped your textbook and it was like this ultimate cliché moment where I came in and picked it up for you." Stefan said laughing.

"I don't even remember what I said to you. I couldn't stop looking at your eyes" Elena said thinking about how green his eyes truly were.

"Then I walked into history and there you were. I could not stop looking at your legs. Your legs are very sexy" he growled into her ear as he let his hands slide down her side past her hips and to her thighs.

"You know, I was thinking" Stefan continued, "we could really role play out this whole teacher student thing, don't you think? I mean, it would make for some amazing foreplay" he said voicing his opinion.

"Stefan!" she chided smacking his hands that were now roaming around her ass. She blushed a deep red.

"What? Why so shy now? There was nothing shy about you last night" Stefan reminded her as he thought back to last night.

Elena stopped laughing as she thought back to last night too. "Mmm, last night was really amazing. You really know how to make me feel special" she said with a soft tone full of love.

"I am pretty good, aren't I?" Stefan asked as a goofy smiled played around his lips.

"I'm not feeding your ego. It's already big enough" Elena replied with a smile.

"Oh come on. You were pretty loud last night" Stefan said with a knowing smirk that she couldn't see.

"Stefan Salvatore, I am done here" Elena said shaking her head as she wiggled out of his arms and left the room.

"Oh come on Elena!" He called after her as they both left to go see what Nik was up to. This was exactly what they needed. They needed to be playful before he finally moved away. Winter break would be over in a couple of days and Stefan's new placement would start.

They needed to remember that they loved each other and that they would support each other. Next week is when the real challenge would be.

**XXXXXXX**

Gah! I hope you guys liked it! Leave a review! Next chapter I will be introducing a new character! I hope you guys are still very much interested!


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